Habitual offenders

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Every one of us is a sinner, a person who breaks God’s law repeatedly.  In fact, we are habitual offenders.  We are the kind of repeat offenders that even the most lenient judge finally gives up on.  The problem is that we can’t help ourselves.  We are addicts to sin; even though we know it’s wrong, even though it’s clear that we’ll regret it later, we go ahead and do bad things anyway. We indulge in sin because it’s thrilling, it brings pleasure, or it temporarily relieves our stress.  We put our health at risk by eating too much food or drinking too much liquor; we take dangerous risks like texting while driving or not wearing a helmet while cycling.  The Internet is full of pictures, music and videos that promote hatred and violence, casual sex and wasteful gambling; there is no good reason to spend time on such things, yet many individuals cannot shake the habit of repeat visits.  We spend money on impulse purchases that don’t have lasting value; we let flashes of anger take control of our behavior and people that we care about are hurt as a result.  And the worst part is, we do these things over and over again.

It’s bad enough to realize your own inadequacy; it’s even worse when you try to use your weakness as an excuse.  When you say “I can’t help it”, you’re giving yourself permission to indulge your sinful habits.  People who simply give up trying to change have allowed sin to dominate their lives.

Christ Jesus understands our weakness.  He spent many years walking among us, facing the same temptations, stress, and disappointments that we do.  Unlike us, He had the strength of will to back away from every pitfall.  When He approached the cross, the only sins burdening His soul were ours.  The Savior from heaven lived a perfect life on earth, then offered it to His Father on our behalf.  Jesus took responsibility for our sins and credits us with His righteousness.

We can’t help doing wrong; praise God for showing us mercy through His Son! But this is no excuse to give up struggling against sin, trying to honor the heavenly Father with our good behavior.  With Jesus’ help, we can reject what is bad and embrace what is good.  We won’t always get it right, but we can show Him our love and respect by trying.