Lakeside Visitor February 2011

 

Last month I said that those areas not submitted to God are sin traps for us because God demands His rightful place in our lives and won’t accept anything less. When we don’t do what God says (whether we call Him ‘Lord’ or not), it’s sin–plain ol’ rebellion against the living God. This month we’ll look at the other phrase I used: sin is a perversion of the good things of God.

The good things of God are perverted throughout scripture. Adam and Eve were given only one rule to follow: don’t eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or you’ll die (Gen. 2:16-17). God’s rule. God didn’t tell Adam the fruit was nasty, or would cause some kind of stomachache. He simply said don’t eat it. All the serpent had to do was cast doubt in their minds and human reason did the rest, biting down hard on supposed injustice. “Seriously? I eat fruit and I’m dead?! That’s a little harsh. In fact, it’s too harsh to be true. Therefore, I deduce that a bite or two ain’t that bad.” Murder, she wrote, and we’ve been killing ourselves ever since. In that one scene from history we see reflected back to us our doubt that God means what He says, the shame that results from disobedience, our excuses for actions that deny God’s word, and the inevitable punishment of God. When the law is set, breaking it brings the punishment assigned to that law.

Sin earns death, and God is justified in carrying out the sentence. Because of this act, the good things of God–apparently the hardest work Adam had to do was enjoy creation, name a bunch of animals, and enjoy Eve–were lost and hard work and pain took their place. Why? Because they didn’t believe God. What God intended as a blessing was perverted by their unbelief. They were duped into the party line of sin that says you have the right to do whatever you want, even if you’re told otherwise, and no one can make you suffer for it–not even God. Problem is, want doesn’t excuse us from consequences because we didn’t make the rules. I’ve wanted to fly since I was a kid, and not the ‘plane’ kind but the superhero kind. But if I jump from a building, the law of gravity will hold me accountable regardless of my desires.

In the same way, God has given us the beauty of creation and relationships to enjoy, holds us accountable in our treatment of both according to His rules, and we now suffer because we have perverted His good gifts. If we are ever to control sin’s impact in our lives we must see sin as a rejection of God’s perfect law and, by extension, God Himself. When we believe God wants our best by guiding us to His best, we don’t have to fear His just and holy punishment of sin because He’s given us the best of good things in Jesus. This month let’s prayerfully seek God’s best and saving One, Jesus. And if we find ways, in the process, that we have been dismissing God’s law and walking in sin, let us kick that perversion to the curb!