We Christians try so hard to live a good and pure life for God, don’t we? But we are all-too-often beleaguered down with the burden of sin. It seems that the harder we try, the worse we get. And so, we must ask the question, “Why do we have sin in our lives?”
PROVERBS 8:13 might give us a good hint as to the answer.
“To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.”
Miriam-Webster’s dictionary defines “hate” as having an “intense hostility and aversion to.”
Hate is a very strong emotion. When we hate something, we never want to be around it, and we will do everything in our power to avoid it. We will deny it a place near us. So, maybe the answer to “Why do we have sin in our lives?” is simpler than we think.
Maybe we have sin in our lives because we do not hate it “enough.” I heard it said that we do not hate sin, we just dislike it. Many people know sin is wrong, but they think that since they are comfortable with a little sin in their lives, God is comfortable with it, too. The reality is, God will not turn a blind eye to ANY sin in our lives. If we choose to have any sin at all, we will pay the dire consequences of that decision.
God is calling His children out of this world. He tells us that we are not to be like the rest of this world.
ROMANS 12:2
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed from it by the constant renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, and pleasing perfect will of God.”
If we do not hate sin enough to avoid all of it no matter what the personal cost is, we will be conforming to the world, which is under the influence of Satan and is very sinful. That is not what Christians are supposed to do.
In AMOS 5:13, we see where the people of Israel were afraid to protest the social injustices of their day. Why would people be afraid to point out bad things that happen to them or around them?
They were afraid because if they protested, it would be the end of their social standing, or their job advancements, and acceptance. That is prevalent in today’s society, too. Look at whistleblowers. They see something so perversely wrong that it could even cost lives, yet if they say anything about it, the company will punish them.
What do these people of today and the people back in the days of Amos have in common? They were all trying to be what the world wanted them to be. They were conforming to what the world says you should be like; not what God expects you to be like. They hated alright, but they hated the wrong thing. They hated the thought of not being a part of what was happening around them. They hated not having all the opportunities the world offers them. But they did not hate the thought of being apart from God.
On the other hand, a person who has had real contact with God is so concerned with creating a righteous life for Him that he has no desire to “be like the world” any longer. He is super-focused on creating a Godly influence in his family, among his circle of friends, and everywhere else he can accomplish that, no matter what other people say.
And so, modeling our lives after ROMANS 12:2, (see above) that we shall have no worry about the promise given to us in 2 CORINTHIANS 5:10 –
“We will all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ, so that we may be repaid for what we have done in the body, whether it was good or bad.”
In EPHESIANS 2:3-7, it tells how we have been taken from a sinful nature in the world, and put into a Godly nature through Jesus Christ.
EPHESIANS 2:19 reiterates the fact that we no longer belong to this world. It even goes so far as to say that we are no longer citizens of this world and it says we are now members of God’s private household!
So, to recap, we need to understand that we have sin in our lives because we have not yet tried to hate it enough to get rid of it. And, even at best, this will be a minute to minute battle that will last the rest of our earthly lives.
