Our sins are connected deep inside us, more than we see. We compartmentalize. We tell ourselves we can sin in one area and it will stay contained in that area. It’s easier to rationalize that way. But the reality of what we are and how we work is more subtle, more interrelated, more inevitable.
Ray Ortlund is right on with this. As a colleague of mine whom I greatly respect was noting the other day, we tend to have a very superficial view of sin that doesn’t go any deeper than “Well, I did this thing this afternoon and that was wrong”; we think of sin only in terms of discrete acts that are bad in themselves, and we miss the deeper attitudes of our hearts that are opposed to God.
In so doing, we miss the ways that that thing we did this afternoon affects all the rest of life, and the attitudes that corrupt even the “good” things that we do, and the fundamental orientation of our hearts toward self rather than toward God . . . we focus on individual acts and ignore the part of ourselves that has to die if we are to be faithful followers of Christ. In medical terms, we focus on the symptoms and miss the disease.
I shake my head in disbelief…I must be a pretty dry well – I am getting drenched with new insight just about every time I come here and read a new post! LOL
This one is so well-spoken. Do you preach this good? LOL
Well, building off the work of a great man of God like Ray Ortlund makes it easier, no question.
As for preaching, some weeks are better than others. Thanks for the good words, though.
Yes, when I discovered this it marked a profound change in my walk as well. Now when I commit the same sin over and over again (or more frequently, when a sin I have been ignorant of gets illuminated for me), a heart cry rises up and I grow so sorrowful about it that I say, "Oh Lord, I don't even know why I do this, but I ask you to go deep and do whatever you have to in order to root this thing out. Stop at nothing so I will no longer hurt others or myself."
And he is always faithful to do it. Sin is defintely a symptom, and I have found Him to be the only cure, the only one who can uncover the underlying condition and cure it. I can put a bandaid on it so no one can see it for a while, but then it festers.
BTW, Rob, I think highly of you too — you have been embarassing me lately, lol, with your praise. I have always had a problem with being singled out and praised so He is having to deal with that now, rofl.
You're right about that.
And I can sympathize with the embarrassment thing; but I'm simply pointing out the obvious here. 🙂 And thanks.