DOOMED TO FAIL?
A friend recently posted in Facebook: “From my experience with pornography, it’s inevitable to fail.” Then he said the good thing about this is it helps us keep reaching out to God as a lifelong habit.
I agree with a few things here. First, many people, including myself, fight this battle for years and fail time after time after time. Also, failure helps keep me humble. And hopefully my sins will lead me to seek the Lord, confess my sins, repent of my sins, pray for His forgiveness and ask for His help. I also agree that this side of glory none of us will ever be perfect.
Where I disagree is that it is inevitable to fail. How many other sins do we NOT commit? I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I don’t use four letter words. Why should I be stuck going back to lust and porn? Am I doomed to remain in the compulsive cycle of addiction for the rest of my life? Can’t Jesus set me free? And if HE can do that, what does HE want me to do in order for this to happen?
I found that I needed to get help. I had to confess my sin, bring it out into the light and admit how wrong I was. I also had to work on my thoughts and my desires. I needed to learn to HATE my sin. I needed to see it as it really is. I needed to put a stop to OLD habits and train in order to form NEW habits. This took time and effort just like it would if I wanted to learn to play the piano or to play tennis.
But thank God, with His help and a new strategy, today I’m free! I don’t want that stuff anymore. It’s UGLY. It’s WRONG. Our Father loves the people I have treated as objects of lust. May I always treat them as His children and offer them my utmost respect.
Everything Jesus asked us to do, He is ready to help us put into practice. Obviously, there is always work to do as I seek to be the person Jesus wants me to be. We are all “in progress”. I’m still dealing with a variety of sins (selfishness, pride, lust, anger, laziness—all mixed up in varying proportions). But the Lord is here beside me to help me. I have brothers and sisters in Christ, fellow-strugglers who can encourage me and point me in the right direction.
Praise the Lord! In HIM there is HOPE! Your life CAN be different. You are NOT doomed to keep repeating yesterday’s sins today. We always have a choice. May today be a day lived with no regrets, dedicated to pleasing our Lord and blessing those He places in our life on this day called “The Present”.
