In Romans 3:23, the Bible makes it clear that all people sin and fall short of the glory of God. We all do stupid things that we later regret.
For Christians, Jesus paid the penalty for those mistakes and we can walk confidently knowing that we are forgiven.
But, what about people who struggle with stubborn or stronghold sins – doing the same stupid, regrettable things over and over again. Why do they seem to be caught in an endless cycle of sin?
I think every single person struggles with some undesirable habit they can’t seem to let go. It could be any one of what are called the seven deadly sins. They are:
- Envy – Resenting another person’s success, wealth, promotion or possessions.
- Gluttony – Overindulging in things that aren’t generally good for you, be it food, alcohol or drugs.
- Greed – Strong desire for wealth and possessions
- Laziness – Lack of interest in pursuing work or any productive activity.
- Lust – A passionate or overmastering desire or craving for things we want, like power and sex.
- Pride – A belief that we are much better, more important or superior compared to other people.
- Wrath – Uncontrolled feelings of anger, hatred and rage.
At some points in my life, I was caught up in all seven!
Permanently overcoming those flaws comes down to how people look at their sin. Do they see it as evil or as being merely wrong?
People who view their sin as simply wrong, experience earthly sorrow concerning the consequences and their reputation. What happens if I’m caught? What do people think of me? What impact does this sin have on my life?
People who view their sin as being truly evil take a different approach. They see the problem through God’s eyes and experience godly sorrow. They see how their sin impacts others. They view sin as grieving their heavenly father who wants them to enjoy life to the full, but in the right way.
Take pornography for example. It’s a problem that impacts two out of three Christian men, one out of three Christian women and nearly 100 percent of teenagers today. A clinic in England reported they are treating kids as young as 8 years old for pornography addiction.
Studies show that 25 percent of workers are viewing pornography on the job using company computers and internet connections. For people engaging in that behavior at work, it’s only a matter of time before the problem is publicly disclosed.
It’s a sin I struggled with for nearly four decades beginning shortly after my 12th birthday. The reason I struggled to overcome it as long as I did was because I saw it as being wrong, not evil.
It was only after I stepped back and looked at the scope of the problem that I was able to see it through God’s eyes. That gave me godly sorrow.
The sin keeps people separated from God. When they view porn, the last thing they want to do is spend time with their heavenly father. People with guilty consciences run and hide instead.
Millions of adults are viewing porn and filling themselves with guilt and shame. Shameful men often relegate themselves to the sidelines of life. They don’t serve or lead others – even their own families.
Millions of people, especially females, are being sold into a sexual slavery to satisfy the lusts of others. Their lives and reputations are ruined to the point many would rather commit suicide than continue to endure the shame. That gives me godly sorrow.
Pornography has ended millions of marriages and jobs. Kids grow up without both parents. People have lost opportunities because of their infatuation with porn.
Children between the ages of 9 and 17 are the world’s largest producers of child pornography thanks to the widespread use of cellphones and webcams. They have absolutely no understanding that the internet is forever. The images they are sharing with “friends” today will be available to their own children years from now.
Facial recognition software is advancing so quickly that it will soon be extraordinarily easy to identify people in pornographic images and videos. They’ll never escape that shame. That gives me Godly sorrow.
You need only visit Google news https://news.google.com/search?q=porn&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen to see how porn is destroying the lives of people every single day as they navigate that slippery slope.
That’s just one type of sin. The Bible is full of stories of the devastating consequences sin has on people and even entire nations.
Proverbs 27:20 notes that “death and destruction are never satisfied, and neither are the eyes of man.”
But, until we can see sin from God’s eyes, there’s a good chance we will continue to wallow in it.
