Hebrews 12:1,4 Let us also lay aside every weight and sin, which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us… In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
I’ll just never do that again. If you are like me, you have said this a thousand times about some behavior. It may be overeating, drinking, lust, pride, anger, or bitterness. Whatever your thing is, we all struggle with some self-centered behavior that we try really hard to stop doing. Here is the problem. I’ll never do that again, is not a plan. It is the battle cry of those doomed to failure.
You do not have to have an addiction to drugs to understand this. We all do it. We have no plan and we do nothing to change our behavior but we expect that next time will be different because we will just say no.
This struggle against our flesh nature is an endurance race that will go on until the end of our lives and positive thinking is not a plan. It is preparation for failure. I’ve heard many complain that they try so hard to stop doing something when in fact they have not really done anything at all.
I met a woman once who told me she would do absolutely anything to get over her addiction. Go to treatment now, was my answer. Oh I can’t do that. She said she would do anything but what she meant was that she was willing to do nothing except wish really hard that things were different.
Monte, a man in our local jail, said something profound last week. His speech was more colorful than mine and I won’t get it quite right, but here is a paraphrase. We need to pursue the new life with as much energy as we pursued the old life. In the old days, I would have fought to the death to protect my stash and turf. Now, I need to work that hard at the new life.
Many feel that since we are saved by faith (which we absolutely are) that we do not need to work at our new spirit life. The passage above however, says that I am to do whatever it takes to lay aside every weight and sin…In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Am I willing to do what it takes to leave behind self to pursue God? Am I willing to go to treatment? Am I willing to give up my phone or Facebook? Oh I can’t do that. I just won’t do it anymore…