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Just Because
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Posted by: angelofthelord
(Deuteronomy 26:16, Joshua 1:8, Exodus 19:5, Deuteronomy 5:29, Revelation
22:14)
In an interview with Dan Rather on 60 Minutes prior to the
release of his book, former President Bill Clinton made a very profound
statement in regard to his affair with Monica Lewinsky. President Clinton
said, "I think I did something for the worst possible reason -- just because
I could. I think that's the most, just about the most morally indefensible
reason that anybody could have for doing anything. When you do something
just because you could. I've thought about it a lot. And there are lots of
more sophisticated explanations, more complicated psychological
explanations. But none of them are an excuse." AMEN!
Everyday we deal with the very real lives of very real people who have
made the conscious choice to sin against God. Men and women. Those who are
rich and those who are poor. People of all ages. Regardless of what the
sin is or the circumstances involved, the bottom line is that it was a
choice that person made to disobey God....because they could! You see, God
gave man free will to make choices, otherwise we would be nothing more than
robots. Everyday, many times throughout the day, we make the choice to obey
God or disobey Him.
I will never forget when I was 12, the first time I was allowed to stay home
all by myself. It might have been 20 minutes after my mother was gone that
I realized she was not around to see what I was doing. We had certain rules
on what time we could have snacks and what we were allowed to have. As I
was watching television, I remembered thinking that since mom wasn't home,
she wouldn't know if I had an extra snack. So I went to the kitchen, to the
pantry where the cookies were, went to the refrigerator and poured myself a
big glass of milk, and sat down at the table and for the next 15 minutes ate
cookies.
I will never forget to this day knowing deep down inside as I was getting
the cookies out of the pantry that what I was doing was wrong. I am not
even sure if I was really that hungry or wanted the cookies. It really
boiled down to the fact I was all alone, nobody was there, and I COULD. Oh,
something else about sin, it ALWAYS leaves a mess. Of course I did my best
to put the cookies back exactly where I got them ( not thinking that there
were now about a dozen fewer), did my normal poor job of washing the glass I
used for the milk and put it back in the cabinet ( still dripping), and
cleaned the area of the table I used (but not the floor underneath).
A few hours later at dinner, I remember that I was not very hungry.
Normally I would clean my plate in minutes and be begging for more. But
this night, I had a hard time eating all of my food and had to force down
the last few bites. I remember the guilt as my mother asked me several
times why I was not hungry and giving her some lame excuse about not feeling
well. It was later that evening as I was getting in bed that my mother and
father came into my room. As a child, you always know when mom and dad come
to see you right before you go to bed, something is wrong.
My mother asked me how things went being in the house all alone. I told her
everything went fine. She asked me what I did. I told her I watched
television. She asked if I did anything else, and deep down I knew that
somehow she knew I had eaten the cookies. The guilt was already more than I
could bear so I told her that I was hungry and decided to eat some cookies.
My father then got involved and asked me if I realized that when I was
eating the cookies, I knew that I was breaking one of the house rules since
it was not snack time. I told him that I did and I was sorry. He went on
to explain to me that one reason they had such a rule was so that me and my
brothers would be hungry for dinner and have a good balanced diet. The rule
was not to keep us from enjoying cookies, but to keep us healthy.
They told me how disappointed they were and asked me if I was sorry for what
I had done. I assured them that I was. My father then told me that I
would not be allowed to watch any television that weekend and would have
some
extra chores to do around the house. Before they left, they prayed for me.
I remember laying in my bed that night, thinking how those few cookies
weren't worth having my parents disappointed in me, and it sure wasn't worth
having to miss my favorite programs on TV that weekend. I was mad at myself
for doing
something I knew that I shouldn't, just because I could.
I realize a 12 year old eating some cookies and
being home alone is not what most would consider a horrible thing to do.
The fact was we had rules in our
home about when we were allowed to eat snacks, I consciously chose to break
that rule, did a poor job of trying to cover it up, was caught, and had to
pay a price for my choice to disobey. In looking back, I wasn't starving to
death, I really didn't even want to eat the cookies that bad. As much as
anything it was an opportunity for me to rebel and do something I knew I
wasn't supposed to, if for no other reason than BECAUSE I COULD!
The fact is, my parents rule on snacks was there to make my life better, not
worse. So often we look at God's "rules" in the Bible as being there to
keep us from having fun in life when in fact, they are there to insure we
have fun in life. When we choose to disobey God, there are always
consequences, always a price to pay. After we sin, the first thing we do is
try to cover it up. Adam literally did that after his sin by making some
crude clothes to cover up his body. We are foolish to even try to cover up
our sin, since God sees everything that we do. Sin always involves others,
we don't sin in a vacuum. Sin is like throwing a pebble into a still lake,
watching the ripples of that initial pebble expand out further and further.
When you choose to sin, others will always be affected in some way. Sadly,
sin always carries a price tag greater than we ever wanted to pay. Sin
costs my friend, and costs much more than you ever imagined.
The reality is, everyday, many times
throughout the day, you have the choice to obey God or disobey Him. I pray
that in the coming hours of this day, these words will ring in your heart
and mind as you are faced with the opportunity to obey God. I pray that you
will understand that sin simply isn't worth it. Sin carries consequences,
obedience carries blessings. What do you want today in your life,
consequences, or blessings?
SIDE NOTE: Instead of having to say I sinned because I could, let your
testimony be
I obeyed God, BECAUSE I COULD!!!
Posted by: son of God
angel of the LORD be Bless the post u put i dont understand why poeple for 10+ year stray dont they understand that God doest play with those who stray. i hear preacher say that he know forgive our present and past furtrue sin but u post that Joeph,danile they all run from thier sin ir tepation and the LORD God say to flee iwas doing this for 2 to 4 yr then ran into poeple that it could not be done even my wife could belive it take Discipline wakeing with our LORD give him ur self and lunch and bed time and asking him before makeing a move i test everything. my pray is that all the brotheren and sisteren would stop allowing the devil to punk them and get ready for his retrune 
servant