A while back, I was talking to a friend about besetting sins. You know those struggles against which you are constantly striving? In our total depravity, we’re going to sin. Genesis says “every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.” There’s no getting around it. But my question is why couldn’t God give us an absolute victory over a sin. Why couldn’t we move to the next mud puddle? Why do we have to keep falling back into the same stagnant, smelly pool? I mean, wouldn’t it be great if we could just move on to another sin? Like the levels in Mario Brothers. Well, therein lies the answer.
How do you feel when you climb up the little Mario Mountain and jump on the flag at the end of Level 1? Proud, of course. You’ve accomplished something! So if Cristi were to overcome the sin of selfishness forever, she would only look at the triumph as something she’d done. Though she knows her salvation comes from Christ alone, she would forget the filth from which her Beloved rescued her. She would try to make the victory her own. The danger of any success is that it breeds independence.
So, brothers and sisters, that’s why we fall back into the same putrid mire. Because without the grace of Jesus we are abominable muck. Besetting sins remind us from where we come. They send us back to the foot of the Cross. Prostrate, face covered in grime, I know my need for dependence. How poignantly strong is the reminder of my depravity in my recurring failure! And how blissfully sweet the aroma of Christ’s amazing grace!
I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40:1-3
Author’s note: I know this isn’t an exhaustive reasoning behind besetting sins. Nor is the topic itself developed to its fullest potential. Another day, another note.
