Giving up the love for sin

Turn from these worthless things to the living God (Acts 14:15).

When we belong to Jesus, He expects us to give up sin for Him. That sounds unpleasant. Some would go so far as to say, “If Jesus really loves me, why do I have to change for Him?”

Jesus isn’t asking anything unreasonable. When you get married, your spouse assumes that you will give up anything destructive to your marriage—like being selfish and sleeping with others. You go into marriage knowing that for the sake of your relationship, some things have to be given up.

So it is with Jesus. Once He becomes our Lord, He expects us to give up anything destructive to that relationship—like being selfish and dabbling with other religions or philosophies. Ignoring what Jesus wants from you so you can do your own thing is sin, the very sin that Christ suffered and died to forgive. Indulging in sin shows terrible disrespect for the sacrifice Jesus made on your behalf. When you wallow in sin, you thumb your nose at Jesus’ bloody, pain-wracked hours on the cross. Love for sin destroys your relationship with God’s Son.

On the surface, sin is fun. If sin were not enjoyable, we wouldn’t be so addicted to it. But there’s a good reason why Jesus wants us to abandon our love for sin. Sin causes hurt. Sin tears things apart. Sin kills and destroys.

We enjoy making our own decisions—but how often do those decisions turn out badly because we didn't foresee the consequences? We like to indulge our appetite for pleasure—but too much alcohol can lead to fights and car accidents, too much food can result in obesity, and unrestricted sex can give you AIDS. We get a kick out of shopping and gambling, but how many people get caught in massive debt? We prize the right to speak what’s on our mind, but how often do our words put up barriers between us?

Sin is unhealthy—it wrecks our lives by ruining health and destroying relationships. Most tragic of all, sin cuts us off from God, leaving no hope at the time of death. Jesus went to the cross to free you from sin’s destructive influence; He wants you to understand how awful sin is, because He loves you and wants the best for you.