Well, to put this into a little context, my wife and I had to give some blood yesterday. Now you may be saying to yourself, “so what, that is no big deal.” But for my wife and I, it is a big deal. We both hate the sight and thought of needles and blood. I am not sure if it was those traumatic visits to the doctor in early childhood that freaked us out or maybe it is just the thought of something foreign entering our bodies that gives us the heeby jeebies. But regardless it is not good, the amount of anxiety triples in a matter of seconds when those needles come around.
Even now as I am reflecting back on the whole experience, my mind keeps drawing connections between this experience of giving blood to how things we do that are against God’s will (sin) affects our lives. For example we can use the sin of sex outside of a marriage relationship. Because this is a common thing for our culture today, I will assume that most people will be able to draw the lines as we discuss this.
(Side Note: I am NOT saying that giving blood is a sin. I fully support the giving of blood. 🙂 )
The Anxiety of it all
Just as my wife and I were filled with anxiety waiting for the phlebotomist (person who draws blood) to arrive, the same occurs as we prepare to sin. Now people react differently to anxiety depending on the situation through emotions such as fear, guilt, and excitement. But regardless, we all do this. In our example, think of the girl preparing for her date who is filled with anxiety as she thinks of the night she will have with her boyfriend.
In The Moment
The wild thing is, that once the phlebotomist was there and taking the blood, it was not a big deal. After a little prep, a slight pinch, and a few seconds it was over. Just like our sin, we often times do not look at it as a big deal. For the girl and her boyfriend this may have been the first or twentieth time they have slept together but because of their context they don’t view it as a big deal. It is just something that happened and they move on.
The Effects
The problems with this thought process there are lasting affects. You see, after I gave blood my arm began to swell and bruise. It was sore all day yesterday and is still sore this morning. But I didn’t think about the lasting affects before I gave blood. It wasn’t until they hit me that I truly became aware of them. In the same way that girl and guy may have lasting affects due to their promiscuity. I do not need to tell you how babies are made, or count the innumerable amount of sexually transmitted diseases out there to get my point across. Even if they do not produce a child and they do not contract an STD, they are still creating a bond that will last them the rest of their lives and will have to be explained to their future spouse. My point is, that the girl and boy are not thinking of those things as they engage in their relationship.
The Application
So what do you do? You know you will desire to sin again and again. The answer, you prepare for when you will desire to sin.
You think about the effects of things before you do them.
Don’t get caught up in the moment of life and let yourself sin.
Avoid the effects of sin.
By thinking ahead and taking precautions on the front end, we will be able to avoid the effects of those sins.
Think of the words of Paul to the Romans in regard to what we just talked about.
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
(Romans 6:11-14 ESV)