Accustomed to It
Happy Autumnal Equinox Day! Today (September 22nd) marks the astronomical beginning to fall. So, it is officially fall, even though most days don’t feel like it. However, by God’s grace, He has given us some cooler days and some rain in the past week. But what’s been most interesting to me is how those cooler days have shown me how accustomed to the heat that I’ve become. That doesn’t mean that it’s been easy to deal with or enjoyable to have consistent 100-degree heat, but over time, I have become somewhat used to it. It’s one of those things that I’m not aware of until it's gone. When I can be outside in 70-degree weather and it’s ‘cold’ to my body, you know it’s been a hot summer. Don’t get me wrong, I have thoroughly enjoyed it the cooler weather, and I am not complaining about being ‘cold’, but it has been a shock to my system.
For me, this physical reality has brought out the spiritual reality of the deceitfulness of sin in our lives. It’s highly unlikely that today any of us would cheat on our spouse, rob a bank, or murder someone. But is it possible that lustful, greedy, or bitter thoughts could creep into our minds? Absolutely. Left unchecked, over time those ‘small’ sins will turn into major sins. If we are not consistently confessing and repenting of our sin, we become desensitized to them. We become accustomed to them. Much like the 100-degree heat, they become a normal part of our lives. Our hearts become hardened and calloused, and then we step deeper into those sins because we are not convicted by it anymore.
In Ephesians 4:17–19, Paul calls us to be different. He says that we “must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”
But to fight against that we must daily “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (v 22-24).
We cannot be casual about sin in our lives. A casual attitude toward even the ‘smallest’ sins will have devastating effects on our lives. Pray that the Lord would reveal areas of your life that you have become blind to. Pray that he would help you to put off the old self…be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self.
-Kendall Harris
Happy Autumnal Equinox Day! Today (September 22nd) marks the astronomical beginning to fall. So, it is officially fall, even though most days don’t feel like it. However, by God’s grace, He has given us some cooler days and some rain in the past week. But what’s been most interesting to me is how those cooler days have shown me how accustomed to the heat that I’ve become. That doesn’t mean that it’s been easy to deal with or enjoyable to have consistent 100-degree heat, but over time, I have become somewhat used to it. It’s one of those things that I’m not aware of until it's gone. When I can be outside in 70-degree weather and it’s ‘cold’ to my body, you know it’s been a hot summer. Don’t get me wrong, I have thoroughly enjoyed it the cooler weather, and I am not complaining about being ‘cold’, but it has been a shock to my system.
For me, this physical reality has brought out the spiritual reality of the deceitfulness of sin in our lives. It’s highly unlikely that today any of us would cheat on our spouse, rob a bank, or murder someone. But is it possible that lustful, greedy, or bitter thoughts could creep into our minds? Absolutely. Left unchecked, over time those ‘small’ sins will turn into major sins. If we are not consistently confessing and repenting of our sin, we become desensitized to them. We become accustomed to them. Much like the 100-degree heat, they become a normal part of our lives. Our hearts become hardened and calloused, and then we step deeper into those sins because we are not convicted by it anymore.
In Ephesians 4:17–19, Paul calls us to be different. He says that we “must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”
But to fight against that we must daily “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (v 22-24).
We cannot be casual about sin in our lives. A casual attitude toward even the ‘smallest’ sins will have devastating effects on our lives. Pray that the Lord would reveal areas of your life that you have become blind to. Pray that he would help you to put off the old self…be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self.
-Kendall Harris
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