“When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” James 1:13-15 (NIV)
“Impossible!! How can this be? Why, I’m certain I never crossed the line!”
Out tumbled the words from my disbelieving mouth during a recent trip with my family to nearby Illinois. My husband and I stood staring at the two left wheel wells on our family mini-van that now sat spattered with bright yellow paint. While driving through construction in the Chicago area, it seems I traveled a little too close to the freshly painted yellow line that separates traffic.
While I was keenly aware that the workers had just finished placing the sunny stripes on the pitch-black pavement, I was sure I had driven in a manner that, although closely hugged the lines, had not crossed them. Much to my dismay, when the van’s tires rolled to a halt at a local rest stop, the truth was revealed. Crossed the line? No, I actually hadn’t. There was no paint on the actual tires. However, my getting ever so close was enough to cause the wet paint to stick itself stubbornly to my vehicle’s wheel wells resulting in a nearly neon public display of my too close behavior.
Sometimes we do the same thing with sin. Oh, we make sure we don’t actually cross the line, but we dangle dangerously close to it. We toy with temptation. We wink at seduction. We let bad behavior beckon us.
Perhaps it is with our tongues as we say just enough that it borders on gossip and gets our point across, while still technically remains innocent. Maybe it is fudging a slight bit on our taxes or other financial papers. What about the books we read, the shows we watch or the sites we visit? How about “innocent” but bantering relationships forged with members of the opposite sex. Do we reason and reckon that some of these behaviors aren’t “that bad,” but in reality they come so close to the line that they drag us away from God. And once the dragging starts, we’re hooked. Then we just might find ourselves standing in a very public way with sin spattered all over us.
Instead of asking ourselves how close we can get to the line, perhaps the opposite approach is best. We must remind ourselves just how desperately near we must stay to the Lord Jesus. So near that wandering even slightly away feels foreign, not familiar. Let’s vow together to stick safely by our Savior and a world away from that nasty line of sin.
Dear Lord, Prick my heart when I begin to veer from Your perfect path and wander dangerously close to the line of sin. At those times, may I obey Your commanding voice, however still and small it may be, and rush back safely to Your side. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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