Why do we continue to do things that hurt us? Are we born masochists? What got me thinking of this blog post was I love popcorn. I can eat a whole large bag of popcorn in one setting. I had bought a new brand of kettle popcorn, it was a big bag. I started to eat it and found that I really did not like the flavor, but I kept on eating it anyway, even when I could feel that I was full. I was thinking, "it's popcorn, I don't want to waste any." Afterwards, it left a funny taste in my mouth and an upset stomach. I went to sleep but woke up in the middle of the night thinking to myself, "Why did I continue to eat that popcorn even though it did not taste good?" Immediately, the Holy Spirit spoke to me, (not literally), "This is what sin is." Satan loves to tempt us with our fleshly desires and they look and taste good. All of Satan's weapons appeal to the three main problems that plague mankind-lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. You have only to turn on your TV set, cruise the magazine aisles/internet, go to a bar/restaurant, go through the rich neighborhoods, and any entertainment venue and you see the bought lies and temptations of the enemy on display. The lie of the devil is summed up like this, "Satisfy your flesh and you will be happy."
No where is the message more stated than in the clubs and bars around the world. The neon/flashing lights, the dark atmosphere, the alcoholic drinks are so vividly displayed in various colors with adornments; everything looks 'cool' and 'free', and 'fun'. "Drink, be merry, have a good time, there are no worries, live for today, do what feels good." But what's behind the bright lights and colorful cocktails is hidden, they don't display all the heart ache, pain, and suffering that comes with gratifying the flesh. "The wages of sin is death." This truth is ignored and the lie is believed by so many as proven by the millions of addicts to drugs/alcohol, pornography, gambling, sex, food, lies, and money. If being rich and famous makes you happy, why are so many rich people killing themselves? If taking God out of the schools, courts, and homes makes people happy, why is there a young girl or boy sexually/physically/emotionally/verbally abused every minute around the world? If following the worlds' recommendation for relationships (no need to marry, living together before marriage is good, monogamy is outdated-promiscuity is the way to go) works so well, Why is the divorce rate over 60%? Sexually transmitted diseases are an all time high? Millions of single men and women depressed and suicidal over breakups and feeling lonely or think they need can't survive without another person?
Why is America the land of the brave, the free, and the obese? There is a restaurant on nearly every block. There are reality shows on who can eat the most food. There are reality shows on food, cooking, cooking contests. When you go to a restaurant your servings are four times a normal serving of food, and we eat the whole plate to include appetizers and desserts. Gluttony is now called, a "thyroid" problem. Over eating is now called an, "impulse control" problem.
What ever the issue is-eating, drugs/alcohol/sexual immorality, it all points to the same problem-sin. Living a sinful lifestyle is being enslaved to the darkness. A slave has no choice, they must obey their master and Satan is hard slave master. He makes you eat the poison and when you throw it up he makes you eat the the vomit too.
As a counselor,I hear too often the desperate cries of the lost, they want to get off the roller coaster from hell, but they don't want to do it God's way. They want to stop doing the drugs, they even say they don't even like the drugs anymore but they can't stop; they don't like the way they make them feel, but they can't stop. They don't like the empty existence of just sleeping around with multiple partners, lonely, unloved, their bodies just used up like trash to be thrown away, but they can't stop; They want to stop gambling their life's savings, they don't like that they are homeless, they don't like that they are afraid, depressed, anxious, jealous, rejected, but they won't make the decisions they need to address their sinful lifestyles. They don't understand what it means to be an enemy of God. They basically want to learn how to be 'happy' living a life of sin. They want the blessings of God but don't want to obey Him.
Unmarried couples living together, the girl is angry at her boyfriend for having sex with another girl. Why? They are not married, virtues like 'faithfulness, loyalty" don't come from the world. The virtues of the world are survival of the fittest, there is no right or wrong, humans are just molecules, there is no such thing as monogamy. What they don't understand is that all humans are born with free will, the knowledge of good and evil. Every human has a choice to accept or reject God. Every human is born with the capacity for good and evil. In relationships because we are born with knowledge of good, we expect our partners to be faithful, but this contradicts the worldly view. What these people don't understand is they are wanting 1 Corinthian's 13 kind of love, but this kind of love is only for believers. You are NOT going to get 'long suffering' 'unselfishness' 'bearing all things' in the world. The world is selfish, self serving, self seeking. It's perfectly normal to be unfaithful in ungodly relationships. But they continue to engage in sinful relationships expecting different results, but end up with the same useless, unloving, hurtful engagements, they want to stop, but can't. Atheists believe you can have rules without God, but that does not any sense what so ever. Either there are true right and wrongs or there aren't.
I will finish with the truth's of why we can't stop sinning without believing in God and His Son Jesus Christ:
- "For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, THAT THE LIGHT HAS COME INTO THE WORLD, AND MEN LOVED DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT, BECAUSE THEIR DEEDS WERE EVIL." Jesus's own words. John 3-17-19.
- Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, NOR CAN IT BE. Romans 8:7
- For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do...But I see another law in my members, warring against the law my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:14-25.
There is going to be a Day of Judgment, and God will judge everyone who has ever lived, His wrath is going to poured out on all the wicked and ungodly. The eyes of the unrepentant wicked need to be opened and the ears unplugged so they can see and hear the truth. The Good News is Salvation is a free gift from God, you can't work for it or buy because the price has already been paid with the Blood of Jesus Christ and Believing in Jesus gets us into the Kingdom of God and saves us from the righteous wrath of God. But that is not all, He gives us a new heart and mind NOW, and we receive some of His blessing from heaven NOW and are equipped to be able to live a life that is holy and acceptable to Him NOW.
1. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is real, He lived and died and rose from the grave.
2. Believe that you are a sinner, repent-turn from your sins and realize and accept you need Jesus.
3. Confess that Jesus is your Lord and God
4. Find a local Bible preaching church that does obey the commandment for water baptism for the remission of your sins and to identify yourself with Christ.
This is just the first step to a lifelong journey of growing in truth and love with the God who created this earth and everything in it, including every human being that has ever lived.
Bible verses related to this post: Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Romans 8:7; John 3-17-19; Romans 7:14-25
references: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/fentanyl-bc-deaths-november-tally-622-so-far-2016-1.3901731
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