Don't be a Distraction

For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ~ Romans 7:22-23

A few years ago, my husband and I made plans with another couple to go see a movie.  As we were getting ready, the Holy Spirit convicted me about sneaking in snacks to the movies.  I wasn’t sure what to do—as we’d always taken in snacks and it had never been a problem before—so I called up my girlfriend for wisdom and advice.  She told me that if the Holy Spirit was convicting me that I shouldn’t do it.  She couldn’t tell me why He was convicting me now and not previous times.  She also couldn’t tell me if, in the future I’d “be allowed” to sneak in my snacks in the future.  She even said that she was going to continue to sneak in her own snacks to the movies, “But since the Holy Spirit is convicting you, you shouldn’t.  You never know what the Holy Spirit is trying to do in this other couple’s lives and you don’t want your actions to distract from it.”

And that’s the key thing with “to sin or not to sin.”  God doesn’t want me to not sin simply because He said so.  God desires that I would so cherish my relationship with Him that it would hurt me to know I had hurt him and our relationship.  That’s exactly what Jesus was getting at when He said, “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men,” (Mark 7:8).  For the Pharisees it wasn’t about a relationship with God or encouraging others in their relationship with God.  Unfortunately, it was more about a check list: Woke up √, Washed my hands √, Said my prayers √, and so on.

God, I pray that I will never be so far from you that I will miss how you want to use my life to speak to and touch someone else’s life.  But mostly, Lord, I pray that I will always be close to your heart.

In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.