 This is a guest blog post from Mary Weinstein, Church Administrator. Mary is a fierce proponent of prayer, and has a desire to see people transformed with a new or growing relationship with Jesus. While generally caffeine-addled, Mary enjoys hiking, reading, and spoiling her cat.  Anyone who knows me well (or has seen my Instagram feed), will know that I am slightly obsessed with my cat- Samson. An orange mass of fur and sass- he is the undisputed boss in my house. Last night I came home to Samson with a tail full of burs. And I mean full. He's a long hair guy with a big bushy tail- and it was one huge matted blob of burs. The Holy Spirit is an awesome, encourager, and He loves to bear witness to the gospel (John 15:26)- so He often will remind me of scriptural truths using examples and situations in my life. This week, He used some Vermont burs to remind me of some truths about our community, and the burden of sin.  Four Truths About Sin 1. Sin is destroying those around you. When Samson initially came up to me, I immediately felt empathy. The poor thing was having difficulty walking, and he knew he was in a bad way. We live in a world that is full of the consequences of sin. We see hurting people all around us every day. Maybe you are struggling with something right now. Sin is a result of willful disobedience of God- sinning begets death. In our immediate context we see sin resulting in disease, loneliness, heartache, broken families, lies, etc. In the Bible, sin is likened to a pit, or falling into a pit. Sin is hurting you, and that hurting you see is a result of sin. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.- Psalm 40:2 2. Sin is easy to get into quickly, and deeply. I don't know how Samson got himself so full of burs, but I imagine it didn't take too long. He's got a big ole' bushy tail, and burs are designed to stick to fur. He had some on his legs- back, tail and tummy- and I can see how they easily spread from one area to the others (maybe even as he was trying to get them off). Once you allow a small sin- bigger ones always follow. Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.- 1 Corinthians 5:6-7 3. People need help to get out of sin. There is little chance Samson could ever remove all of those burs on his own. He attempted some furtive leg kicks- but it took a pair of scissors and some dedicated time for me to clean him up. You cannot get out of sin on your own. So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many...- Hebrews 9:28 4. We shouldn't be gentle with sin.
In attempting to help Samson be free, it didn't take long for me to see the necessity of breaking out the scissors. And I had no problem cutting out big chunks of fur, not because I want a bald cat, but because there was no other way to get all those matted chunks out. Sin is insidious, and should be rooted out aggressively. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. - Col 3:5-6 Questions to Consider 1. How deeply does the hurting and sin around me affect me? Do I keenly feel the suffering of those in my community? Do I see sin with empathy? Where am I overlooking sin in my own life? 2. Am I available to share about Jesus with people who are seeking or questioning? Where are areas of temptation that could lead me into sin? What am I doing to avoid sin at all costs? Where does sin need to be rooted out around me and in my community? 3. Am I being too soft on sins in my life? Am I doing those around me a disservice by not telling them the truth in love? Verses to Meditate John 15:26 Colossians 1:22 Ephesians 4:15
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