Over the weekend, I was clearing out some weeds from a corner of our yard. The frustrating thing was that I had cleared out the same area only about a month ago. As I labored, it occurred to me that these were exactly the same weeds. While I have pulled them out of the ground, I hadn’t gotten all of their roots, so they were growing back.
I was forced to do the same job twice. This time I took extra effort and dug into the ground to get out all of the roots. It was hard work, but if I did it right, it should pay off. Otherwise, in another few weeks I’d be pulling the same weeds again.
That is the same thing that happens with sin in our life. If we do not get rid of the root, it just grows back. In my last post, I discussed how important it was to kill sin in our life. Not only must we kill the sin, but we need to go further and seek and destroy its root. If we leave the root cause of sin unchecked, then even if we get rid of it, it will spring back to life and need to be dealt with again.
Using a personal example, in a previous post, I talked about my struggle with the sin of gluttony. Earlier this year I determined to kill this sin. For several months I saw victory in this area. I followed a specific diet plan and made a point to stop eating when I was no longer hungry. The positive consequence was that I lost 60 pounds.
The problem was that I changed behavior without tackling the root of the sin. The root is that I am undisciplined and gratify my flesh whenever possible. The result is my change was temporary. After a while, I ended my eating regimen and slowly crept back into old patterns. The negative consequences are that I returned to a lifestyle that is displeasing to God, and I gained six pounds.
I could go back on the previous diet and lose those six pounds again, but until I pull out the root of gratifying my flesh, I will never be completely victorious over gluttony.
One could even argue that the root of all sin is pride. The belief one knows better than God. Pride often manifests in the desire to be in control. That was the original sin. Lucifer was proud which led him to want to be in control of everything, so he rebelled against God. Adam and Eve thought they knew better than God so wanted to control what they could and couldn’t do. They ate the forbidden fruit and lost paradise. When it comes down to it, I want to determine what I can eat, when I eat, and how much I consume.
So, there is the next goal. To pull out the root of gluttony by focusing on submitting my will to the lordship of God. Victory there should reap a harvest not only in the area of food but in many other areas of my life.
If a Christian has a sin they repeatedly struggle with it is time to look at the root. Chances are they will find the root is pride which leads them to think they know better than God.
Almighty God, You are the sovereign Creator of everything. Have mercy on me and grant that I will have the humility and strength to pull out the root of pride in my heart.