It’s a fair question. You ask others to trust you on a daily basis - in fact, you get quite offended when they don’t. But in your heart of hearts, do you really trust yourself? We are put here on this earth to build character. Righteous, holy character - the same character God has. And we use His spirit as a model. And while we will always have that spirit in us that “lusteth to envy”, and we can’t shuck that part of us that is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” - still, there should be lines that we KNOW we won’t cross.
If we KNOW that we can’t be trusted to do the right thing in a certain situation, then when we get into that situation the odds are we will fail to to do it. If we KNOW we can’t be trusted with something, then we had BETTER learn why and FIX it - soon, because “sin is not imputed when there is no law”, or where there is no knowledge of sin.
A man once told me (in a very holy-sounding way) that he was always very careful not to sit on the couch alone with his girlfriend too long, because he didn’t trust himself not to act inappropriately. While it is admirable that he desired to avoid sinning, nonetheless, rather than being proud of all that, he should instead be ashamed that he couldn’t trust himself not to sin!
James 1:14-15 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
The temptation to sin is something that, as long as we have that evil nature in us, will be present with us. We can’t avoid temptation. Not only is it impossible, but it would be undesirable. For just two verses previous, James had said:
Verse 12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
The man that suffers through temptation is BLESSED - not cursed! John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, once said “every temptation is an opportunity of our getting nearer to God.” - and it is! But temptation is NOT sin! Lusting to do evil is NOT a sin - it is only a sin WHEN it has conceived, and you give in to it! Temptation is actually a GOOD thing! Read the rest of this entry »