May 13
“But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged.” (1 Corinthians 11:31)
Yesterday we touched on something that I think is a crucial aspect of overcoming temptation, and that is recognizing sins in our lives to which we are unaware or blind, sins that some would call “blind spots.” We all have them. We all have habits that we have grown accustomed to that we think of as no big deal but which in reality are displeasing to the Lord. Perhaps these are sins similar to the “high places” of Judah, places or shrines or altars where people worshipped other gods on the hills and mountains of Judah and which was mentioned time and again as a failure point in the lives of kings who didn’t put an end to this practice.
It seems to me that if we are oblivious to or knowingly tolerant of some sins in our lives that it will compromise our ability to recognize and avoid more obvious sins when we are tempted by them. For example, if we have feelings of hatred and dislike in our hearts toward another person, and we tolerate and justify and even nurture those types of thoughts, then I would expect lust or anxiety or some other sin to also have a stronghold in that person’s life, even though they may outwardly try to be more careful to avoid those sins in the outward sense. Perhaps another way of looking at it is that if a person is out of control in their thoughts and actions in one area of sin, expect to find others lurking inside of them as well.
Another way of looking at it might be the analogy of a house, where we close and lock the front door and windows (analogous to trying to be careful to avoid certain sins) while at the same time leaving the back door and windows wide open (analogous to being tolerant of or oblivious to other sins). Eventually, even the sins we are more conscious of and think we are keeping out find their way into our hearts and minds through the pathways left open by the other sins we allow.
We have to get to the point where we are aware of all of our sins and aware when we are tempted by each. We need to know when we are being tempted to be anxious or despair, and when we are being tempted to get angry or impatient, or when we are tempted to become proud and look down on someone else. We need to be aware so we can avoid the temptation. If we are not even aware we are sinning, how can we be aware of temptation coming?
This kind of deep self awareness and sensitivity to sin is rare and difficult to achieve. Why? Because it takes so much humility and results in so much pain to realize how sinful we really are and how much we grieve the Lord and hurt others. That is humbling and sobering. Also, it takes a lot of courage and hard work to face our sins head on and address them, taking them to the Lord in prayer diligently and doing what is needed in our lives to make the necessary corrections. Most Christians I think don’t really want to know the full list of their sins. We want to be right. We want to be justified in our actions and opinions. We want to be seen as godly and having it all together. We want blessings and riches and an easy life without a lot of effort on our part.
This requirement, of seeing our sins clearly and knowing when we are being tempted, is absolutely necessary if we are to grow in Christ and defeat temptation in our lives. We all must strive to see ourselves and judge ourselves rightly, that we may overcome temptation properly and avoid the judgment of the Lord upon us.