Getting Clean

[Brad Fox]

The devil, as portrayed in The Passion of Christ

 

"Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating." - Simone Weil

 

Many years ago I heard an interview by James Dobson in which he talked about the problem of sin.  Specifically, he was writing about how to escape repeating sin.  Some of the points he made have been very helpful in my own life; I thought I might share them with you.  To begin with, he said that it helps to think about the situational conditions of your sin.  First you can consider where you typically commit your most common sins.  Is it in a group of people discussing others who are absent?  Is is when you're home alone with a computer?  Is it when you're with a particular person?  Are you at work; on a vacation?  Dobson proposes that if you can identify specifically where you are sinning, it will be helpful to avoid such locations.  Likewise, the time of day when you commit a repetitive sin might be worth considering.  Mornings?  Evenings?  After school or work?  Knowing when you are most likely to sin can help you develop strategies to divert your thoughts and actions at those times. 

Another aspect of getting mentally, emotionally and spiritually clean is self forgiveness.  Many people get stuck with guilt about their sin.  I think that is why God is so clear about expressing his ability to forget sin.  In Psalm 103:12 the writer says, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”  Great analogy; west and east couldn’t be farther apart!  Paul writes in his letter to the church at Philippi that “Not that I …have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Apparently, Paul felt it was important to forget his forgiven sins and move on with his life.

 

It’s imperative to claim the total regenerative, unconditional forgiveness of God for our sin.  Once we ask God for forgiveness, it’s a done deal.  But it’s equally important to move on after that forgiveness in the assurance that God does love us.  Satan is very clever in manipulating us through guilt and diverting us from our God-designed destiny.  All he has to do is place some small amount of doubt in our minds and spirits, and then we are neutralized in our efforts to evangelize others.