Four Types of Besetting Sins and Three Reasons to Avoid Them!

-


-->
What is a besetting sin?


A besetting sin is anything that dethrones the legitimate ruler of our hearts. 

Basically, a besetting sin is an idol. 

If you are a believer, you have chosen to allow Jesus Christ to sit on the throne of your life.  He is the only rightful ruler of any human heart, and any attitude or action that disturbs His presence there, at the center, is a sin.  When that sin is allowed to remain, it becomes a habit, or a besetting sin.

Besetting sins begin with an attitude.  Sometimes a heart attitude, itself, is the sin, and other times the attitude leads to actions that are sinful.  In any case, when the attitude becomes engrained in our spirits, it becomes a besetting sin.

Ø Pride is the mother of all sins.  Pride puts the self on the throne, and so is the ultimate expression of sin.  It's the sin that was, and still is, Satan's downfall, and it's the one we have the most trouble with.  Pride is probably the basis of most sinful attitudes. 

Ø Worry or fear is pride refusing to trust God, hanging on to our own ability to fix things in our lives or the lives of others we love.  My worry about finances is an example of this kind of fear. Worry is rejecting the reality that God is lovingly sovereign in our lives and in this world.  Ultimately, it's rejecting Him.

Ø Lust replaces God's lordship in our lives with physical comforts.  It's turning to inadequate substitutes for the peace and joy He wants to give us.

Ø Obstinacy is another form of pride that refuses to soften, or give in to God or to others.  One of the most dangerous manifestations of obstinacy is a stubborn refusal to forgive others for wrongdoing against us.  An unforgiving heart is a diseased heart that will lead to physical or mental disease if it's not dealt with.

So why should we be concerned with besetting sins? 

We should care about besetting sins for three reasons:

The first is our own well-being.

Ø Besetting sins, or idols, make us miserable. 

Come to me and I will give you rest--all of you who work so hard beneath a heavy yoke. Wear my yoke--for it fits perfectly--and let me teach you; for I am gentle and humble, and you shall find rest for your souls; for I give you only light burdens.  Matthew 11:28

Let' face it.  The most powerful incentive for change in our lives is discomfort.  We are self-centered people.  We are constantly seeking our own happiness and comfort.

That's not a bad thing.  It's a reflection of what God wants for us.  He loves us.  He created us for joy and peace.  That's why, when we feel uneasy or unhappy, we instantly think something's not right. 

Lack of peace and joy is a sign our lives have gotten off center--out of kilter.  And the only way to remain in the peace and joy God has intended for us is to make sure He remains on center stage in our lives.  We won't be happy with anything less.

The second reason we should be concerned about besetting sins is for the benefit of others.

Ø God's purpose for us is to bless others. 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.     Philippians 2:3-4

When we are plagued with besetting sins, our attention is on our own misery and our energies are expended on fixing our own problems.  We have no time to think about others, and how we might be used in building up their peace and joy.  

God means for us to minister to others--those who are fellow believers and those who are still outside God's family. Being used by God to lead others into His joy and peace is one of the reasons He created us, and nothing contributes more to our own well being than fulfilling that purpose.

There is no greater joy than introducing peace and joy into another person's life.

The third reason for avoiding besetting sins is probably the most important one. 

Ø Our peace and joy gives God pleasure.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.    Jeremiah 29:11

God loves us. 

Let me repeat that one more time: GOD LOVES US! 

Why is that so hard for us to believe?  God means good for us.  Only good.

The Westminster Catechism says that the "chief end" of human beings is "to glorify God (display His beauty) and enjoy Him forever."  Our joy and peace is God's ultimate goal for our lives.  When we are happy, God is happy. 

As we come to know God, and begin to experience Him in all His goodness, our hearts yearn to make Him happy--to glorify Him--to reflect His beauty.  So, though our initial reason for dealing with our besetting sins is selfish, our ultimate reason is God's delight.  When that reason becomes uppermost in our hearts, besetting sins will not have a chance to survive in our lives.


-->

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ten Ways to Open Your Heart to Renewal

-
The beginning of a new year is a natural time for thinking about renewal. We say good-bye to an old, tired year and look with hope and expectation to a new one. A clean page. A fresh chance. A time to think about how to make our future better--more productive, more significant, more successful, more joy-filled. For Christians, thoughts of renewal usually revolve around God. We belong to Him forever, but we are vacillating human beings, and our relationship with Him can easily stagnate. We need times of refreshing. We need to come again to the fountain of living water. We need to long for Him so deeply that it drives us back into His presence. Thankfully, God prompts that longing. He never forces Himself back into our lives, but the restlessness we feel without Him invariably draws us. So what to do when we feel the restlessness? When we become aware that something's not right in our spirits? God is the One who must rescue us from the doldrums of spiritual lethargy, but there are st...
Read more

My Truth, Spoken in Love

-
Image
As I’m sure all of you know, I have a policy of not sharing opinions about politics on Facebook. I don’t believe Facebook is a great platform for discussing things that we all tend to feel passionate about, unless those passions are strongly loving and able to be expressed positively. But I am challenged by my friend, Gina Bell’s post, to break with my tradition about that policy this once. At least the politics part of it—not the loving and positive one. I hope I can express my beliefs lovingly and positively here. I never want to offend anyone, not because I’m afraid of their reaction, but because I don’t want to hurt anyone, or add more heat than light to whatever issue we’re talking about. I want everything I share here to be not only truthful and loving but uplifting and profitable for making the world a better place. So here goes: my break with tradition—my thoughts on the current political climate in the U.S. Like many of my Facebook friends, I am worried ...
Read more

Five Common Myths About Sharing the Gospel

-
Image
This article was originally posted in the FECB blog on January 22, 2013 We mean well.   We really want our friends to know Jesus.   But too often we approach them with wrong ideas in our heads.   If we really want to be effective witnesses, we should be aware of five common myths about evangelism. Myth #1: There are two kinds of people:   them and us.   It's a mistake to see everyone as being on one side of the fence or the other.   That's not the appropriate metaphor.   There's no fence.   There's a road, and we're all walking on it.   For sure, there's a point in every person's journey when they choose to follow Jesus. But it's only a step along the path.   The road continues.   None of us has arrived until we get to heaven, and we're all learning as we go.   The people we want to share Jesus with are just fellow travelers.   Realizing this opens up a whole new way of seeing others, and it will cha...
Read more