Why do I sin?

After I committed a sin the other day it hit me, why do I sin when I know it is wrong, I don’t want to, sometimes I am able to resist but many times I sin anyway and ignore the consequences.

I am not going to say “to be truthful” because I heard someone comment that when you say that you are implying that sometimes you are not! I can honestly say that most of the time I am truthful. I am more truthful to others than I am to myself. However, while being truthful to others I have not allays been kind, considerate, and compassionate while communicating my true feelings and I have insulted some of my friends and made a few enemies. I thank the Lord for forgiving me and for allowing the Holy Spirit to continue to help me grow in my walk and not abandoning me to my foolish actions.

 Now off the rabbit trail and back to sin. In my sin of incorrectly analyzing others I am quick to figure out why they sin but I never really stop to seriously ask myself why I sin. Well, I thought about it and found I don’t like the answer but it is the truth and I have to live with that and accept the consequences.

First I will say that I BELIEVE and have FAITH that if I repent of my sins as stated in 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Psalms 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. And 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I also do not believe that guaranteed forgiveness gives me a license to sin as much as I want and have no remorse. If I did that would make me a hypocrite and a liar as stated in 1 John 2:4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. And Romans 6:1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?

As I look back at all the sins I have committed the main theme that comes up is that many of my sins were exciting, pleasurable, a release from the sadness of reality for a moment, accomplishing them could give me something to brag about (to my non Christian friends) and many others done out of sheer selfishness. The other smaller sins (or so I thought were not that bad before I learned the truth) were done out of habit, self preservation, to save me from being embarrassed, and to make me look good. Rarely did I consider the consequences of my sin and even when I did many times I was willing to take them for the pleasure I desired at the moment.

All sins have consequences; however, some sins have grave consequences that last a life time if not actually taking a life. I will just post the cliff notes on the consequences of two sins that I have committed where I have been negatively affected by one and changed by another.

Married at 18 years old, had a son by 19 and divorced by 21. My wife joined the woman’s lib movement and gave me custody of my son (she could not be single and have a kid). Not knowing who Jesus was and not having a clue about consequences I became a bitter, distraught young man who now totally rejected marriage and the integrity of women. They were to serve one purpose and it was not to gain my respect. Instead of raising my son in a proper manner I subjected him to a life that was full of being with his dads girlfriends and not knowing the proper boundaries’ of how a child should be raised. In the future I learned (the hard way) that my lifestyle set off a chain of events that would permanently and negatively alter my son’s life (which in turn affected me) which almost 50 years later is still negatively affecting both of us. “If I could only turn back time” as Cher tells us in one of her songs. It is only through the love of Jesus that I have joy, true compassion, and an improved moral compass. Learning who Jesus is, how I am supposed to live and the understanding that I can be forgiven has taken me from a lifetime filled with mistakes, sins, and shortcomings to being forgiven and a chance to change. I have learned it is never too late to change and I am trying.

Like many do, I could have played the victim. I could have blamed my bad behavior on my ex-wife, the circumstances and a host of other excuses but that’s what they would have been, excuses.  My sin was cause by me and is my problem to deal with. Ezekiel 18:20 tells us “the souls who sins shall die.” That Scripture rules out my blaming others for my sins and problems. And Gal. 6:7-8 tells us that whatever we sow we will reap. With those Scriptures in mind I (we) have no excuses for my sin, they are mine alone.

Another incident that has brought me back to the reality of consequences but with less drama was when I was blessed to have a motorcycle some 10 years ago. Normally I obey the traffic laws but one time I threw caution to the wing and got on it (speeding) as it is called. I was on a long stretch of road (on the outskirts of the city) when I decided to “fly.” As I approached a traffic light for some reason it turned red! Usually in a situation like this you would lay the bike down and let the bike slide through the intersection and get hit by traffic and hopefully your body would stop sliding before it entered the intersection. I hit the brakes to slow down but had no intention of laying it down. I was going through. My thoughts on how I survived; for some reason my guardian angel allowed the drivers of the vehicles on both sides of the light to see that I was going to run the light and prompted them to sit there long enough for me to safely go through. If not, I would not be righting this article. I immediately and often thanked the Lord for His provision and was cured of the need for the excitement of speed.  

I won’t go into detail exposing my other sins because this is not a tell all article or a way to tell people how bad I was and how far I walked away from sin in my life. Because many times I have not, I just took another road. I do not compare my sins to others but they are not unlike other people’s sins. They include lust (and not just sex), envy, pride, selfishness, laziness, hypocrisy and most of the sins quoted in Scripture at one time or another.

The hard part is how do I kick the habit of sinning. I can’t on my own and even with help from the Holy Spirit I ignore His promptings and sin anyway. But I don’t give up, I search His word for support, pray, repent, and do the best I can to resist and be the person God has created me to be. I know on this earth I will never be sinless but I pray that I can sin less if I allow the Lord to help me.       

Becoming a true Christ follower and a new creation I have had to reconsider my thoughts, feelings and outlook considering sin. I had (and wanted to) make changes and be obedient to Jesus and what He asks of me. Things that helped me through this transition come from some of the scripture I am listing below;  

James 4:17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James 1:15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

1 John 1:6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

Genesis 4:7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

I will end with I pray that as I explained my reasons for sinning, the challenges I faced and the way I focused on how to walk closer to God and, with His help, I will sin less in the future. I also pray that you may be encouraged to take a look at yourself, the struggles you have and the need for the assistance of the Holy Spirit to help you conquer your trials and avoid dire consequences that may haunt you for years to come.

 Blessings, Dennis, 06/27/2020

Point to ponder; I don’t know about you but when I am trying to explain, or make excuses, why I sin there is always a “me or I” in the answer.