STUCK by SIN!

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

When I was growing up I had a lot of rather, unusual hobbies. I raised turtles and collected over 30 different types. I hunted for fossils and had a very extensive collection. I even had a cactus garden. My family would often take trips during the summer back to Oklahoma, where all of us were born and raised. On these trips, I would collect cacti from the deserts of Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. For some reason I was fascinated by these living pincushions.

 

One summer we traveled back to Oklahoma to visit relatives and our route took us right through the southern United States and some major desert areas. As usual, I kept my eye out for collectible cacti as we stopped for breaks to walk our dogs or to stretch by the side of the road.

At one stop, I wandered away from the car to search for specimens. It didn’t take too long for me to spot a prize. It was beautiful; as cacti go. I walked over to it and examined the large tubular arms of the green cactus. It had long yellow thorns all over its surface. It was ready for battle. I analyzed how to best obtain a piece of this pointy protected plant. I finally decided to use a stick and pry off a prickly arm. I gently placed a stick in the crook of one of its spiny protected arms. My plan was working as the cacti arm began to give way, unfortunately though, the arm fell onto my finger that was bracing the stick. Instantly I felt pain as the needles dug into my skin. They didn’t puncture deep, but with over 20 of the spines jabbing into my finger, it still hurt. I attempted to remove my new friend from my digit. Unfortunately I had not noticed that at the end of each thin pointed defensive shaft of the cactus was a small fishhook‑like tip. As I attempted to pry off a spine, the skin of my finger went with it. Those thorns were not going to come out easy. I tried everything and in the process managed to involve another finger from my other hand in the mess. Now here I stood, with two fingers attached, painfully, to this green desert inhabitant. Through the sharp pain of over 40 spines now I thought, “How was I to free myself?”

 

I glanced over towards our car and saw my dad. I called to him to come and help me. He asked what the problem was and I attempted to motion for him to come to where I was. Of course this was somewhat difficult since my hands were locked in a prison of thorns.

 

My dad came and evaluated my predicament. With wisdom and care he attempted to extricate me from my captivity. Unfortunately, he also, became entangled. Now the supposed leaders of our family, father and son, were both locked in battle with this small but powerful thorny creature. With no other options available, we carefully walked side‑by‑side slowly towards the car, wincing with pain as the thorns tore and pulled at our flesh.

 

At the car we called upon the only other member of our family whom we felt could solve our dilemma, my mother. My mother gently removed the thorns with tweezers and scissors. Our fingers were sore and bleeding after the deadly prongs were removed, but we felt relieved we were free from our predicament.

As I thought about this childhood experience, I couldn’t help think about how we often are drawn into sin in similar fashion. Often we see something tempting, something that appears to be innocent, and something we can justify as needing, wanting, having or doing. We are tempted when we observe such things, but fall into sin when we touch, partake or involve ourselves them. Just like the cactus, sinful things will prick our spiritual souls and hold on with dear life as they attempt to trap and ensnare us. Often our attempts to withdraw from our error or stop sinning fail. Once we fall into sin, the only option that can truly free us is seeking our Heavenly Father and asking for His help and forgiveness. He can provide the power and spiritual strength through the Holy Spirit for us to gain freedom. Sometimes God works through others who help us by providing support, much like my mother did for my dad and me.

 

What we need to remember when we face temptations is that it is better to obey than to sacrifice (have to ask for forgiveness), (1 Samuel 15:22). It is better to obey God in the first place and avoid falling into sin. We can’t always avoid temptation. It will always come in one form or another. But we can choose to avoid sin and say NO. As the wise saying goes, “Temptation is like a bird, we can’t stop it from flying over our head, but we can stop it from nesting in our hair.” We need to recognize sin for what it is and not let temptations we have lead into sin. We must understand that if we fall into sin, it grabs hold with a death grip. It will strive to demoralize us if it can’t kill us. It will attempt to ruin our reputation if it can’t discourage us. It will attempt to undermine our relationship with our Lord and Master if it can’t get us to deny our faith.

 

Don’t get STUCK by SIN!

Psalms 119:11

 “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

 

Flee sin, lust and sin and seek to serve the God who loves us more than we can ever know.

 

James 1:13‑15

“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 1:2‑4

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”