There is a man in the prison where my husband works who had sex with two ten year old girls that he was babysitting. When asked about the incident, he said that they both looked much older than ten. His second statement was that their mom was sexually aggressive (to put it nicely) and had trained her girls up the same way, causing them to come on to him.
I know - it’s ludicrous and appalling. Anyone with common sense can look at this guy’s words and see that EVEN IF what he says is true, it doesn’t make what he did acceptable in any way. Even though he has been tried and convicted, he still refuses to truly accept any blame or responsibility for the evil nature of his crimes. As a result, he will continue to suffer for his own actions, as he shows no signs of rehabilitation or remorse.
On a less horrific scale, I see the same mentality creeping in all around me and it makes me nervous. People everywhere are turning to diagnoses to excuse their bad behavior…self included.
I have a food addiction.
I am addicted to pornography,
I am an alcoholic.
I am gay - it’s just the way I was born.
I am a shopaholic.
What if, instead of making things sound so clinical, we called things out the way that the Bible sometimes does?
I am a glutton.
I am filled with lust.
I am a drunk.
I act on my homosexual desires.
I have no self control.
Does that raise your defenses? I know it does mine.
In John 8 when the woman who was caught in the act of adultery was brought to Jesus to be condemned, he shocked everyone by essentially telling them to let her go. This isn’t a pass or an excuse for her behavior though. After the crowds were gone, he turned to her and I assumed very gently told her to “Go. And sin no more.” Notice that he didn’t tell her to go and get counseling, do some soul searching, make a life plan and when she felt she fully understood all of the whys and hows of her behavior THEN stop sinning. No, it was immediate. “Go and don’t sin anymore.”
Before I get a bazillion e-mails and private messages, I am not saying that addictions are fake. I think they are the real deal Holyfield (really dorky and old Snoop Dog reference there for you). Sometimes, our poor decisions and choices to sin can cause physical changes in our flesh (neuro pathways are changed, dopamine receptors are affected, etc…). But I am saying is that I see nowhere in scripture where God makes allowances for sin due to our addictions.
Sometimes we indulge in our flesh to the point where it becomes a physiological problem. Romans 6:16 says, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Basically what that is saying is that if you choose to obey your flesh (or to be more specific if you choose to indulge in porn, alcohol, excessive eating, shopping, or sex), then that is what you will become a slave to. Or you can choose to indulge in things pertaining to obedience and then you can become a slave to righteousness.
"For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." Hosea 8:7
I found this verse earlier today. I have never paid attention to this verse before, but it really drives home the point that I’m getting at. And that point is this - our addictions are not given to us out of the blue. They are consequences of our own actions. Even though it is hard (maybe even harder than it would be for someone else), we still will reap the consequences of our sin if we don’t stop the behavior.
Go. And sin no more.
I know - it’s ludicrous and appalling. Anyone with common sense can look at this guy’s words and see that EVEN IF what he says is true, it doesn’t make what he did acceptable in any way. Even though he has been tried and convicted, he still refuses to truly accept any blame or responsibility for the evil nature of his crimes. As a result, he will continue to suffer for his own actions, as he shows no signs of rehabilitation or remorse.
On a less horrific scale, I see the same mentality creeping in all around me and it makes me nervous. People everywhere are turning to diagnoses to excuse their bad behavior…self included.
I have a food addiction.
I am addicted to pornography,
I am an alcoholic.
I am gay - it’s just the way I was born.
I am a shopaholic.
What if, instead of making things sound so clinical, we called things out the way that the Bible sometimes does?
I am a glutton.
I am filled with lust.
I am a drunk.
I act on my homosexual desires.
I have no self control.
Does that raise your defenses? I know it does mine.
In John 8 when the woman who was caught in the act of adultery was brought to Jesus to be condemned, he shocked everyone by essentially telling them to let her go. This isn’t a pass or an excuse for her behavior though. After the crowds were gone, he turned to her and I assumed very gently told her to “Go. And sin no more.” Notice that he didn’t tell her to go and get counseling, do some soul searching, make a life plan and when she felt she fully understood all of the whys and hows of her behavior THEN stop sinning. No, it was immediate. “Go and don’t sin anymore.”
Before I get a bazillion e-mails and private messages, I am not saying that addictions are fake. I think they are the real deal Holyfield (really dorky and old Snoop Dog reference there for you). Sometimes, our poor decisions and choices to sin can cause physical changes in our flesh (neuro pathways are changed, dopamine receptors are affected, etc…). But I am saying is that I see nowhere in scripture where God makes allowances for sin due to our addictions.
Sometimes we indulge in our flesh to the point where it becomes a physiological problem. Romans 6:16 says, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Basically what that is saying is that if you choose to obey your flesh (or to be more specific if you choose to indulge in porn, alcohol, excessive eating, shopping, or sex), then that is what you will become a slave to. Or you can choose to indulge in things pertaining to obedience and then you can become a slave to righteousness.
"For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." Hosea 8:7
I found this verse earlier today. I have never paid attention to this verse before, but it really drives home the point that I’m getting at. And that point is this - our addictions are not given to us out of the blue. They are consequences of our own actions. Even though it is hard (maybe even harder than it would be for someone else), we still will reap the consequences of our sin if we don’t stop the behavior.
Go. And sin no more.
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