“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13
Let's get real. You are ready. Sin is evil and dark and deadly. The world is a complex, dark place. You are in Christ. You have no ties to this awfulness. We walk in Light, which is so bright in us that others come running. However, we want what we can't have. In some ways, we are very much like a small child. We beg, throw fits, cry, and desperately try to get that candy/toy we do not need, ignoring all our parents' statements of why we cannot. Like that child in our pleading, we make up solid cases to justify what we can. However, as adults, who are our parents? God is. We don't always give Him that authority. Since there is no immediate discipline for our actions, we don't see any harm. Therefore, we justify it to ourselves and think God buys it.
He said, "I can't." "Why can't you?" The man replied. "I'm not strong enough to swim that far." "You swim twice that far every day." He quickly stated back. "Well, not every day; I don't swim on Mondays. Today is Monday, so I can't do it." He was swept downstream in the torrential rainstorm until someone happened to see him and save him miles later. "I thought you didn't sacrifice God for money?" "I don't!" the businessman replied. "It's Wednesday night bible study, and you're working." His friend said. The businessman quickly proclaimed, "It's just mid-week study, and this is a huge client that will bring money in for us for years. Besides, it's just one time."
"You drink?" His partner asked. "No," said the man. "Well, then what is that in your hands?" he questioned. "Oh, this, this is my stress relief, and I'm on vacation. I only do this at the beach," he proudly replied. His partner asked again, "What's in the glass?" He had to say, "It's alcohol." His partner said, "So, you do drink."
We can justify anything. If you want to justify sin, go right ahead. The only person buying that bag of lies is you. It is a very dangerous game to play. Once we start, where do you stop? The reality is there is no true end. Your stopping point may not be mine. We make up our own rules at that point. Who are we following if we make up our own rules? Also, if we are making up rules so we can do things like sin, who is our master? Those justifications are often not bought by the ear that hears them. They accept them. Why? It's common practice. We justify everything from laziness to greed and gossip to adultery. Justification is the Devil's game, and the world is good at it. The Devil justified his position to Eve and Jesus—just some food for thought.
We are not to justify our actions to fit our agenda. We will then act and adjust based on our surroundings. We never justify lousy behavior or sinfulness for any reason. At that point, we lose ourselves. I know we think we know who we are outside of Christ. Not really, though.
You are God's creation knitted together in your mother's womb for good works in Christ Jesus. You are designed to live and love in Him and in the fullness of the goodness of God. Sin prohibits that. We become our sins when we justify our actions to fit our surroundings. That is not who we are. No wonder so many are hurting and lost and depressed in this world. That's a dark place to be.
Have you ever wondered how sin can give birth to death? It's justification. You justify this sin or action in your life for this moment or situation. Then, you expand that lie and justification the next time to fit this new situation. Then, before you know it, you are just dead bones walking around. A sack of fleshy pleasures with no root and no hope. What a hard reality to accept. I see it in the glue sniffers on the streets of Honduras. You look in their eyes, and all you see is dark emptiness. They say the eye is the window to the soul. If so, I weep bitterly for those who are walking death, living in that darkness both inside and out. Please do yourself a favor, and don't justify it; get out!
-Steve Johnson
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