Wear Pants? Read This!

“You should never betray anyone’s trust, because when you betray someone’s trust, you can never get it back completely to what it was.” These words came from the pastor of my church. They were and still are one of his favorite proverbs to use in Sunday school. For a long time I didn’t understand when he said this was also how we should look at sin. God forgives right? So we stumble… so we walk away…“have fun for a little bit”… we can still pick it up later and get back to where we were right? To anyone who thinks this way, I invite you to GET NAKED.

Fat chance! There is no way you would do that where you are right now. Even if you did you would be so embarrassed you would hide yourself as soon as someone saw you.

And yet it says in Genesis; “Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.” [Gen. 2:25 (NLT)]. Notice how most of us wear clothing. Never in this lifetime will Christians or otherwise go back to being shameless about nudity, nor will we look God strait in the face.

Ever notice how some of the weakest Christians have been in the church their whole lives? Adam and Eve were created believing in God, I mean they even met him! But humans are so curious by nature. That forbidden fruit looked so delicious to Eve that for a moment she put her desires ahead of God’s commands and ate the fruit God sternly warned her against. I’m sure the fruit was indeed delicious, but instantly she knew what she had done (funny how sometimes regret sets in instantly!). And so she could never stand before God the same way again.

You’re not any different, Christians. You, like Eve, cannot “temporarily” follow a path of your own desires and then be the same when coming back to his way, if you come back at all! In doing so all you will gain is guilt! I’m not saying God doesn’t forgive, but you don’t forget either.

Notice how Eve didn’t sin alone. Practically no one does. Luckily, Adam got right back on the boat with Eve, and they both recognized their sin. But who’s to say that will happen to you! The guilt of influencing others to sin is far greater than sinning by yourself. Just like the joy in bringing others to righteousness is far more than just living right.

God forgives you for your sins, but the guilt alone is often the punishment in itself, among other things. Stay strong in the Lord; always walk forward, and never walk away.

May the Lord’s guidance be with you all,