“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.” Psalm 51:4
A young friend of mine, who is usually mild-tempered, exploded in anger when her mother meddled in her relationship with her boyfriend. Afterward she shook her head and said, “I don’t know what came over me. I’m not like that at all. That’s not me.”
I looked directly at my friend and warned, “I’m afraid you’re wrong. That is you. You are like that.” I could understand the look of surprise on her face, for we both knew that she was not one usually given to outbursts of anger. I went on to explain. “All of us, at any moment, are capable of the most vicious sins against others and against God. In fact, we could all say ‘Yes, we are like that.'”
Jerry Bridges, in his book, The Pursuit of Holiness, says: “We are more concerned about our own victory over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve the heart of God. We cannot tolerate failure in our struggle with sin, chiefly because we are success-oriented, not because we know it is offensive to God.”
We will be less likely to sin once we realize that sinful behavior breaks God’s heart. Our sins hurt God more than they hurt others.
How many times have you said after a moment of disobedience, “I don’t know what came over me, I’m usually not like that at all.” It’s true. We like to think of ourselves as above-average sinners, not quite as wretched as those who commit truly ugly offenses against God. But every disobedience is ugly, no matter how great or small. Our problem is that our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered.
My Lord, I realize that all of my sin grieves You. Thank You for helping me today live a life that pleases you and does not grieve Your heart.
