Just A Little Sin?

Just a Little Sin?

Lysa TerKeurst

Today there will be a moment. No one will snap a picture of it. It probably won’t make it into a daily journal entry or linger in the thoughts we carry to sleep tonight.

It will come.

It will go.

It will slip by seemingly unnoticed. But its effects will stay. And if fostered, it will grow to epic proportions.

This is the moment when something creeps into our hearts and pulls our focus from right to wrong. It will be just a hint of distortion. But a seemingly insignificant amount of skewed thought will take root.

And grow.

Remember in the Bible where Moses goes to Pharaoh and sings, “O Pharaoh, Pharaoh, whoa ohhh, gotta let my people go”? Okay, that’s totally a loose translation, but here’s an astounding chain of events to consider. Why was the entire nation of Israelites enslaved in Egypt? Trace this story backward and you’ll find it’s because of one moment: when the brothers of one family got jealous of their younger sibling, Joseph. Envy and anger slipped in. Just a hint. But just enough.

Joseph was thrown into a pit and eventually sold as a slave. Years of heartbreak and confusion followed.

Eventually, Joseph rose to a position of great power in Egypt and had authority to provide food for his family. His brothers and their families moved to Egypt. Those families became twelve tribes and as those tribes multiplied, they became the nation of Israel.

What the brothers meant for evil, God used for good (Genesis 50:20). He saved the Israelites from the famine. But there were still lasting effects of the brothers’ choices that came out years later. After Joseph died …

A new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.” So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh (Exodus 1:8–11).

So, the entire nation of Israel suffered oppression and slavery. Why? Because a few brothers got a little jealous and allowed anger to slip in. And the moment it slipped in, the course of history was forever changed.

May we never assume our moments don’t matter. The decisions we make every second of every day matter. So, we fall hard upon soft grace. And ask God to make us more sensitive, more aware, more in tune to our constant need for forgiveness.

Watch for a moment today where you’re given the choice to let something negative slip in. Recognize it. Refute it. And replace it with God’s love.

Dear Lord, make me aware of where I’m off course. Give me the desire to do what pleases You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

REMEMBER

The decisions we make every second of every day matter. So, we fall hard upon soft grace, asking God to make us more sensitive, more aware, and more in tune with our constant need for forgiveness.

REFLECT

What small decisions have you made in the past that had major ramifications on your present? Think back to that moment when something small crept into your heart and pulled your focus from right to wrong.

RESPOND

Ask God to forgive you for that moment you reflected on. Now, picture yourself having to make a similar choice in the future. Decide now to choose the right way, and practice in your mind doing so.

POWER VERSES

James 3:16; Proverbs 27:4