The easiest part of sin to resist is the first step towards it. It never gets easier than that moment. If you don't resist that very first indulgence of temptation, then the next will be harder. That's why it's so important to control our thought lives- because sin begins in our minds, our hearts. If we give it root there, it will spread to our hands, our feet. We will do the things we only thought, that we justified by telling ourselves were harmless and contained. Nobody else sees those secret sins, until they grow like tumors into our speech, our attitudes, our actions. You can't stop it, can't control it from sneaking into the visible world.

We know this. We know we're supposed to resist those temptations within AND without us. But how do we do it? It's not like deciding not to walk into a strip bar. That's easy, for most. We have reputations and obligations and consequences that keep us from darkening those doors, don't we? But fighting the IDEA of sin is less tangible. Fighting lust, discontent, resentment, anger can seem hopeless when you try by sheer willpower. But there is no sin impossible to defeat with God's grace, He promised it.

So, knowing that, how do we do it? How do we battle it? God doesn't spell it out, except to say, FLEE. RESIST. He knows that the mechanisms will be different for everybody- you've got to figure it out. Dig it out of your life like the weed it is. Find out what fertile ground you're giving this sin, and be ruthless in destroying it. This will mean that you'll have to sacrifice some stuff you may not want to, things that in and of themselves are not bad. But if they create a crack in your foundation, a weak spot that makes you vulnerable- annihilate it. Burn it in the hottest fire. Then take the ashes and throw them to the wind, so you can never go back to it.

But let's be more specific, so there is no misunderstanding about what is required. We associate things with moments in our lives, based on our senses. Sounds and sights and smells evoke memories in us, which is a joy when the memory is sweet and good. It is a gift from God. But our memory is not discerning, and there are things that will trigger memories of sin, too. These are the things you must cut out of your life. Is there a song that causes you to reminisce into dangerous territory? Turn the dial. Right then. Listening to a song you may enjoy isn't worth the risk of being led astray. Is there a place that is imprinted with the memory of a sin? Don't go there. Leave, and don't look back. Sacrifice that place on the altar of obedience. No earthly landscape is worth it. Is there a taste that takes you back, a scent that stirs up the memory of something that shouldn't be? Don't let them near you. Pass them by, again and again, every time they approach you.

Removing the rich soil that your sin grows in doesn't mean you won't still have to fight it, though. It WILL make it easier. But there are still times when you will be confronted face to face with it, and you will have to look it dead in the eye and say, "No. You can't grow here anymore." Curse it, hate it, revile it. It has no place in the temple of God, the holy vessel He calls you to be. It is an abomination, an abhorrence. Just think of that sinful thought trying to reside beside the holy spirit God placed in you. It cannot be, it must be denied.

Because if it isn't, like the weed it is, it will choke out the joy in your life. If, by chance, you are able to hide it from others, you will not be able to hide it from yourself. You will feel it, you will know that it distances you from God. You will cringe inwardly when someone complains about hypocrisy in the church. Praise and thanksgiving will have a bitter taste in your mouth. And then, one day, it won't. You'll sing along with everybody else, tasting nothing more than the words. You'll stop cringing at the mention of hypcrosy. And that distance from God just won't seem to matter much anymore.

You'll have forgotten the real taste of joy altogether, because you don't register anything at all. That is a frightening place to be. Numbness is not so very far from death. Two steps? Four? You won't know until it's too late.

The easist step to battling sin is the first one. It never gets easier than right this moment, this day. Tomorrow will bring an even greater struggle. It will be stronger, deeper, reaching further into your life.

Don't give it another moment to steal the spaces in your heart. There are better things to hold there, greater things to grow.

Thank you for another wise post on "the challenges of pursuing a holy life." Your ability to write along these lines without coming off as holier-than-thou is a great gift.