Sin Is Never Far Away

No one is immune.

I don't care who you are, you are not immune to temptation and sin. No matter how "good" you think you are or you try to be, sin is right there with you. In fact, I believe the more "good" we try to do, the more we are tempted. 

Here is how Paul says it in Romans 7:21 . . .

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

Isn't that that truth! In fact, lets look at this verse a little closer and find not one, but three truths Paul points out.

It's a law.

A law is a rule that has been proven over and over to be true, like gravity. If you drop something, it will fall to the ground. That's a law. It never fails.

That's the kind of law Paul is talking about. Not a rule of thumb, but a fundamental guiding principle of how the world works. This isn't something that applies to some and not others, or to only certain situations. This is an across the board, guaranteed to be true reality. This applies to me, and you, every time.

I get to choose to do good, or not.

Most of us realize this. We have choices to make in life, and most of the time we know which of those choices are good, and which are not. Whether guided by Christian principles, a moral conscience, or simply societal rules, we know right from wrong.

We get to choose which path to take.

So far, so good, right? A fundamental rule of life is that we get to choose whether to do good or not. Easy enough.

Except . . .

Evil is right there with me.

That's the kicker, or therein lies the rub.

The fundamental truth shared by Paul is that choosing what is good is so hard because evil is right there beside him. What's so hard about that?

Sometimes evil looks soooo good!

Knowing the right thing to do is usually pretty easy. Doing it is something different. The right thing is often the harder path that leads through the valleys of Struggle and Effort. The right choice often means leaving the crowd, standing out, even suffering loss. Rarely is the right choice the easy one.

Evil, on the other hand, is easy. It is so, so easy to sin. In fact, it doesn't take any effort at all. We are attracted to sin like moths to a flame (and the outcome is the same!). And this law Paul talks about tells us that when we want to do good, when we want to make the right choice, evil will be right there with us, tempting us to do otherwise.

For today, I want us to realize sin is never far away.

An important part of avoiding danger is to be aware that it exists. Every day, every decision we make, is fraught with the perils of evil. Every time we try to go the right, good thing, evil lurks in the shadows, attempting to lure us away.

Wherever you are, whatever you do, be aware that sin is never far away.