I have spent the last 3 weeks sick. My illness has included fever, sore throat, fatigue, weight loss (I like that one), and a almost non-stop cough. I still do not know for certain what it is that I have had after 3 visits to doctors. It is my hope and prayer to be done with this soon so that I can resume my work and normal life. However, during this protracted physical illness I have found some correlations to a person suffering from the self-imposed sickness of sin. Let me list a couple.
First, sin looks for times when we are weakened to attack us. I had gone non-stop for more than 2 months and was very fatigued and tired when my illness hit me like a Mack truck. My immune system was weak because of my fatigue. Any other time I probably would not have gotten sick. The devil watches for when we are spiritually weak in order to effectively attack us. When we do not pray, study our Bibles, attend Bible class, worship services, or live daily for Christ, we are going to be weakened and be easy prey for the roaring lion that is the devil (1 Peter 5:8). We must constantly strengthen our spiritual life so that the devil will not be able to devour us.
Second, sin is contagious to those you come into contact with. Sin is easily spread from one person to another. Paul told the Corinthians that “bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). We are told repeatedly throughout the Bible that God’s people are not to be associating with those who do not live righteously. Why? Because it will lead the righteous away from God. There are a plethora of examples in the Bible to prove this assertion.
Third, sin can wear you down to the point that you think you can never be well. Sin originates from the temptations of Satan who Jesus calls the father of lies (John 8:44). The belief that you cannot do anything about your sin is one of the greatest lies told by Satan today. We live in a society that cannot help what they are doing. Too many are addicted, have their way of thinking corrupted, or driven by some uncontrollable urge or feeling to continuously sin. These are just lies that the devil uses to make us believe we cannot change and therefore, such thinking will excuse us from personal responsibility. I have seen physically ill people who gave up on life. In every case, they did not live long. If a person gives up on being able to do right, they will never do it and will go headlong into sin. We must remember that the Gospel is the cure for all spiritual disease. For it to help us though, we must believe that is true and we can be healed.
I am going to get well because I believe that I can get well and I am doing what must be done to help myself get well. If you are living your life in sin, you must first believe that you can conquer the sin in your life and then allow Jesus Christ and His Gospel to change your life through the spiritual healing that can only occur when you obey the Great Physician.
Whitney Houston died this week and like always, the press is trying to honor her and make her out to be some kind of great person. We have seen this type of post-death media hype with Michael Jackson, Dale Earnhardt, and others. Why would we consider Whitney Houston to be a great person? Because she could sing? She was rich? She was a celebrity? How does any of those things make her a great person worthy of honor? I say that they do not.
Yesterday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the voter approved law call Prop 8 which banned homosexual marriages was not constitutional. The ruling stated that such a law officially classifies homosexuals as inferior to heterosexuals. The ban remains in place as Prop 8 advocates continue the appeal process. This case will without a doubt be taken all the way to the United States Supreme Court.
I have just endured a very difficult week in my life. My family and I went to visit my parents for the holidays and had to spend a week without access to the internet. Thankfully, I did have my iPhone and was able to access limited things such as email. On New Years Eve, a few of us in my family went to the local hospital and used the wi-fi in the surgery waiting in order to get our iPads and Nooks up to date. I know how sad that sounds, but we needed it. You really do not realize how much a part of your life some things are until you no longer have access to them. No Google, no Facebook, no Twitter, no blogging, no downloading apps and music, and no online news. That’s tough – or is it?
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