Sermonette: August 17, 2020

Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

James 1:15

One of the things I’ve learned lately is how sin starts small. Perhaps it’s different for others, but for me, I was surprised to discover that my sin issue could be traced back to a point when I made a small decision.

Not a huge, life-hangs-in-the-balance sort of decision, but a small one. The kind of decision that we make dozens of every day. When I look back at that very first moment, that very first choice where I first veered off the road, I didn’t realize how much a small change in trajectory would affect my final destination. In fact, while I certainly ended up in the mud with the other swine, that first decision barely even felt like a sin. Honestly, I’m certain that had I come clean right away, it would have been considered almost nothing. A mere trip up. A weak moment. But I didn’t come clean, and one small choice led me down a road far from where I was called.

James seems to get this. He speaks of sin not like it’s one big decision, like the choice to get on a rollercoaster, but like it’s progression. He starts with desire, which isn’t a necessary evil, to sin, and that sin continues to grow until it becomes death. Sin starts small. It begins with decisions that are only ‘sorta wrong,’ and then repeated ‘sorta wrong’ decisions pave the way and ease the conscious into full-fledged sin. However, the devil is never satisfied with simply sin. He keeps pushing, and pushing, and pushing

until he’s got us so far deep into sin we can’t get out.

We see this in David. David chose to stay home instead of going to war. This wasn’t sinful, just not very smart. David saw Bathsheba. Again, glimpsing Bathsheba bathing is an accident, but an extended look and the following thoughts are sinful. Then, after David has already made the small decision to let his eyes linger and his mind to wander, he commits the full-fledged sin by sleeping with Bathsheba. Then that sin paves the way through his conscious for him to be okay with something as horrible as murder. All from one small choice to let his eyes rest on Bathsheba, and not look away. Sin starts small. In the moment, it’s an easy decision you’ll likely never think about again. Until it’s too late.

My prayer for you today is that you take some time. Find a quiet place, pray, read your Bible, open yourself to God. Then ask Him: “Lord, have I opened the door to sin? What small decisions have I made that are already opening the door for sin.” Don’t let yourself get beat by the small decisions. Pull out sin when it’s a small weed; before it’s a 6 foot thistle.