Preventing the birth of sin

“Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” James 1:15

To prevent an unpleasant birth, we must take the necessary step of mortification. To stop sin from being born, we must kill the desire that conceives it. I am reminded of John Owen’s quote, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.” Every Christian must put sin to death. But sin must be killed before it is born, while it is still only a desire, a thought. Negative thoughts need to be eliminated before they grow into hatred and envy. Dissatisfaction must be uprooted before it turns into a complaint.

I am reminded of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince. He plucked baobabs on his planet every day. When the narrator remarked that baobabs are very large, the Little Prince responded simply and wisely, “Before they grow so big, the baobabs start out by being little.” They had to be pulled out while they were still small. Sin must be dealt with while it is just a thought. Once it grows, it becomes much harder to remove

From my diary,

September 27, 2024