Potable
water will never be drawn from a contaminated well. You would never swim in a
pond covered in thick, green algae. Nor would you buy any food product if the
safety seal over the top of the jar or bottle has been torn, opened or
punctured.
The
fact remains:
a heart full of sin, darkness and carnal, selfish desires will never give rise
to anything pure, holy or loving. A heart that has never sought out confession
and forgiveness will always be troubled, unsettled, unhappy and ungrateful.
These attributes contribute not only to spiritual decay, but to the various
moods we struggle with such as anger, depression, sadness and regret.
What
must we do? We must strive to remove those things in our hearts that block,
hinder or hurt our relationship with Jesus. Once those things are removed, then
the “side-effects” will also begin to disappear.
Sometimes,
it is as simple as deciding to no longer listen to certain types of music or
determining never to watch certain shows on TV. Maybe we need change the genre
of books/magazines we read or decide never to go to movies that are PG-13 or R
rated.
Other
things could be a little more challenging, but not difficult, such as “un-friending”
bad influences or blocking certain groups/pages from Facebook or other social
media platforms. Perhaps it would be finding a different store or Mall to do
your shopping.
Now,
let’s get real….I will admit that there could be more challenging obstacles to
overcome such as ending a dating relationship, stepping away from a circle of
friends, and possibly ending a business partnership, quitting a job or changing
your major in college. As it has been said, “sometimes, you gotta do what you
gotta do!”
Hebrews 12:1
(TLB),
tells us “…let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and
especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip
us up….” The word “strip” means to “cast away” or to “give up” or “renounce.”
We
must literally give up and “walk away” from anything that causes harm to our
faith and relationship with Jesus. In other words, “just stop”….literally drop
it like a hot-potato. We might even say, “go cold-turkey.” (*please note…I am
not talking about your marriage, so I am not saying “go ahead and divorce your
spouse.” I am not saying to cut off communication or to “disown” one of your
family members or even one of your own children.) Yes, sometimes we take
drastic measures, but not at the expense of our marriage and family.
Overall,
your relationship with Jesus is THAT important and should mean that much to you
to be willing to do “whatever it takes” to shield and protect it. We shouldn’t
allow things, possessions, people, career, and leisure (just to name a few) to
damage, corrode or break our relationship with Jesus.
So….what
adjustments, changes and sacrifices will you need to make to better, deepen and
strengthen your walk with Jesus? It is worth “stripping off” anything that
prevents that from happening. Make those hard choices today….right now! Amen!