Weeding Out Sin (Friday Devotional)

Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

- Ephesians 6:11

Though officially we have to wait until March 19, spring appears to have arrived. 30 degree wind chills have given way to sunshine and highs in the 70s. Little League fields are being prepared for the upcoming season. Even Punxsutawney Phil, the Nostradamus of rodents, agreed a month ago that we’d have an early spring.

Unfortunately, I’ve been getting another, less pleasant reminder lately that our days of freezing temperatures are behind us: weeds. Weeds in the flower bed. Weeds between the sidewalk cracks. Weeds along the fence line. Every time I step out the front door, they’re the first thing I see—and I know that unless I deal with these unwanted menaces, they will start to overwhelm the grass and plants we want to thrive.

Similarly, sin has a way of infesting your walk with Christ and choking out what is healthy. In no time at all, a nagging temptation can become a stumble which can lead to a series of falls and then even to habitual wickedness. Having once devoted your life to Christ, you can quickly find yourself so far from him that you lose sight of his grace and are instead consumed by guilt.

That’s why, like with the weeds on your lawn, Paul encourages believers to be proactive about dealing with sin in your life. Telling believers to “put on the whole armor of God,” Paul instructs us to defend ourselves from the things of the devil with the things of God. Instead of passively hoping you won’t be tempted, you can follow Jesus’s model and pray that God will lead you away from temptation and deliver you from evil. Rather than looking for manmade defenses against your vices, you can look to the Bible for spiritual wisdom. Instead of trusting your willpower to overcome sin, you can lean on the Holy Spirit’s power and the accountability of a brother or sister in Christ.

Too often we think of sin as something we are powerless against. The truth is that in Christ you have been given victory over your temptations, that in him you can overcome the very struggles which once left you helpless. But you have to be proactive instead of reactive, ready to defend against and deal with sin before it takes over. Like a weed, sin can be a menace to healthy life—but Christ has given you what you need to stop it in its tracks.