#91. Seeing sin as a catapult.
Mar 30th by Jon
Have you ever had a friend that says something like this: “I don’t know how it happened. Things were going really well and then suddenly my life was out of control. It really snuck up on me.”
One of our favorite things is trying to describe sin as this fireworks, explosive, come out of nowhere moment. It wasn’t a long slow burn with a wick that was ten miles long. It was this instant reaction, an unforeseen challenge that blew up without us seeing it far in advance. I used to think the same thing about the prodigal son story. (I’m also writing a book on the prodigal son right now so 87% of my references will come from that.) I used to think that the son got his inheritance from the father and then climbed inside a catapult that instantly launched him right into hookerland. That maybe the son left a few hours after getting some cash. But in Luke 15:13 we see a slightly different picture. Here is what it says about the moment before he left:
And not many days after the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
Let’s pretend “many” here means three. So for three days the son slowly packed his bags. He ignored any warnings signs, he very deliberately and methodically prepared to leave the sanctuary of the father’s house. Our sin is the same way. It is not one big, unexpected moment. Most times, it is a slow, gradual journey of a thousand tiny steps. I think a big part of our faith is learning to identify those steps. For instance, I have friends that are alcoholics. They refuse to get money out of the ATM because they are dangerous with cash. They know it’s one of their little steps toward blackout drunk. Is using an ATM sinful? Not at all, but they know where it leads them.
My question to you today is, what are your steps? What do you do during your “many” days? And how can you catch yourself at step 4 instead of step 400?
Comments
I heard a former prostitute speak one time and she said something very profound: One sin leads to another. Sin doesn’t isolate itself. It grabs everything around it. You do something wrong, then you lie about it or cover it up or not ask for forgiveness… then do something a little worse the next time, then lie about it or cover it up….
Writeaway had a great insight on that. I’ve actually heard it described as “gravity.” One sin attracts another, then the two of them together have a greater mass, attracting more and more, etc. (That’s more new-agey than Bible.) So how about just, “You reap what you sow.” And sometimes it takes awhile for seeds to sprout. But they always do.
In order to catch myself before sin 400, and to get at the roots of things….
I go to a recovery program. I need it.
We own that catapult!
I’ll look forward to reading your book. There is a lot to learn/discuss in that one story.
We talk a lot about the ‘prodigal son’ and his father’s love. I think we often miss the lessons of the older brother. I feel like a lot of churches today are made up of “older brothers” who have seemingly walked the line but don’t have the compassion. And we the prodigals return we just want to say “what about me?.. I’ve been here all along, teaching Sunday School, leading the prayer group.”
What do you think?
Since I’ve just found your blog — and working from #1 up — it reminds me of Casting Crown’s song “Slow Fade”. That’s what the song is all about. Committing sin doesn’t just happen instantly. We slowly fade into it — not realizing, sometimes, that’s where we’re headed. One innocent action leads to other actions, and by the time we realize where we’re headed, it’s been a slow trip.