LIE: Some sinful habits are unconquerable

Lie:      Some sinful habits are unconquerable.

Truth: All sinful habits are conquerable.

We all have weaknesses, propensities and bad habits that we coddle. These protected weaknesses become ‘the sin that so easily besets us’ – sins like anger, lust, bitterness, covetousness, lying, stealing, gluttony or sloth.

Depending on how deeply these sinful habits go, that is, how long they’ve controlled you, how extensive in terms of the number of people affected, whether you’ve taught that it’s normal, etc, all these factors contribute to make it more difficult to eradicate — but not impossible. Nothing is impossible with God’s redemptive power.

That said, we have to be clear on how sins become entrenched, the consequences of what that means, and then specifically how they can be eradicated.

First, how do besetting sins become habitual? To answer that simply, think of sin as simply a bad habit. But remember, habits themselves can be good or bad (or neutral); some good habits: brushing your teeth, playing the piano, typing on a keyboard, driving a car, buttoning your shirt. We do these and hundreds of others ‘automatically’ — our body simply knows how to do them without our conscious attention. We can turn our attention at any given moment if needed, but most of the time, when we’re engaged in any habitual activity, we can easily tune our attention to other more important things, or to nothing at all. This mechanism is a God-given and beautiful thing. Try to imagine life without it!

So besetting sins – the sins that control us, addictions – become that way because of continuous use. They are sins we commit automatically, without thinking. They are often triggered by such things as: newspaper or TV ads, pies, cakes, a couch, malls, magazine racks, crowds, and any number of other environmental triggers where our flesh ‘knows’ we’ll encounter the object of our temptation.

Second, after the trigger is present, we allow ourselves to go on ‘autopilot’— intentionally forgetting — allowing the habit to trigger and operate. We mindlessly do this, ignoring reality, temporarily suspending our conscious attention on it.

In Romans chapter seven, Paul’s honesty is disarming. Listen to his perplexity:

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. — Romans 7:14–20

Paul wrote this nearly 2000 years ago, yet all of us know first-hand what he’s talking about. It’s a malady afflicting humans across the ages.

He goes on:

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. — Romans 7:23

Did you catch it? It’s remarkable; Paul says that he is not responsible — “. . . it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” The sin he refers to are the habits of our automatic nature: the flesh. It’s the sin ‘in my members,’ that is, the members of his body: his eyes, hands and feet.

If left there, we could easily dismiss our responsibility and indulge the flesh, but only those who belong to Christ, know that this is a sure way to bondage. So we join our voice with Paul who cries out:

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?

This must be our cry, for we must believe that our salvation lies only in Jesus Christ, not in ourselves or in any manipulation or ‘tweaking’ of our psyche.

Now, how can we get delivered from the flesh and our besetting sins? Of course we cry out, we trust in God’s mighty saving power — nothing is too difficult for him. But then it is a matter of ‘reprogramming’ our minds, of ‘minding the things of the Spirit.’ We overcome evil with good. We conquer the lusts of eyes, flesh and pride of life, by getting on with doing the will of God — doing what we are supposed to be doing. We must take new delight in his will, believing – truly believing – it is the best thing that we can do. We must want his will and pray for it to be realized above anything and everything else.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. — I John 2:15–17

Over time we will see more clearly the stupidity of our sin and the overwhelming value of his will. After a while, the sins that seemed so important, so overpowering, simply won’t interest us nearly as much; new habits will form that will bear fruit, demonstrating the resurrection life that is in us.

See the introduction to this category: Lies about sin.