(Friday 12th of July 2013)
In coming to America I was adamant that I'd never transition to the American of words. That I'd always keep the Australian-United Kingdom spelling with the included 'u'(s) and 's'(s) instead of 'z'(s).
At first this was fairly easy to maintain, in fact I often became a little poignant when I saw an American spelt word and yes a little excited and prideful when on the rare occasion I saw an Australian spelled word. However over time the clarity of recognising and even writing the Australian UK words over the American spelled words began to blur and became harder to distinguish.
When realising and pondering my immersion into American culture, including spelling, I began to realise how similar this is to our walk in life and our battle with temptations and sin. When we first see something wrong or sinful we can clearly distinguish the right thing from the wrong thing. We try to justify it, realise it, and try get around it. But deep down we know it's sin. We know it's wrong but the moment we do it (sin) the less we can clearly distinguish and recognise the difference.
The Australian Youth With A Mission's Dean of education (a position in YWAM's University of the Nations) Mark Brokenshire shared with the class I was sitting in when I was at YWAM Newcastle (New South Wales, Australia) in 2011, that sin was like a cliff edge.
We try to see how close we can get to the cliff edge, wanting the excitement, the adrenaline, the view, but then getting super close to the edge, we take a wrong step and then we're gone.
We can do that with temptations and simple things too. Trying to see how much we can dabble in in it - how close we can get to the edge of a cliff, thinking we're not really doing that bad a thing. It's not as bad as something else, that someone else has done and as a result, we don't realise the cliff edge when it comes.
We are so busy comparing ourselves to other people and trying to rationalise and justify that what we are doing isn't that bad, is that different to other peoples actions that we hit the cliff edge and before we know it we're going falling to our deaths.
The more we sin, the more blurred the clarity of right from wrong becomes and the harder it will be to hear God as well. It's like James 1:19 - 20 says
"My Christian brothers you know everyone should listen much and speak little. He should be slow to anger. A man's anger does not allow him to be right with God."
Romans 6:12-13 also reiterates this with "In the same way count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Do not offer the parts of your body as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.
Got does not want us to sin, therefore should we be tempted to even gamble with what is "sin" and what is not?
It doesn't matter if other people are doing it, if it doesn't line up with God's Word, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit, or our conscience convicts us of it, even if it's only a little, - we should not even partake in a second of it.
God asked us to be like Him and to be pure of heart and if we truly love Him and fear Him (out of reverence, respect and honour) we should obey Him and His directions whether it's from Him personally or a spiritual leader in our lives e.g. Pastor, teacher, law-enforcement, parents etc.
They are all in leadership for a reason and as in Ephesians 6:1-9 says they have our best interest in mind and we have the responsibility to honour and a pay them with respect and reverence.
It's truly our choice but Romans 6:12 says one brings life and one brings death. It's all in our hands. I know which one I'd choose. How about you?
Further readings - Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 19:16-30; Proverbs 21:16
