Avoiding the Salt Shaker (day 10)

“Therefore do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under the law but under grace.” Roman 6:12-14 (NIV)

“Mommy, Gracie is on the table again!” Ross called from the kitchen. Indeed, Gracie was sitting in the middle of the kitchen table, happily shaking salt from its shaker and watching it fall like snow all over the table. For what was at least the fifth time that day, I retrieved Gracie from atop the kitchen table. Once again I sternly said, “No!” then swatted her little bottom and placed her on the floor. Gracie instantly dissolved into tears at my correction of her and her removal from the table, just as she had the first four times that day. Again I cleaned up the salt she had been sprinkling from the salt shaker all over the table.

I also pondered once more why she was so fascinated with the salt shaker on the table and what I could do to stop her from getting to it again. Someone had suggested I remove the salt shaker from the table and place it somewhere out of her reach. But I wanted her to learn discipline in the face of temptation. I wanted to teach her that not everything in her reach belonged to her and that some things must be left untouched by little hands. The salt shaker remained on the table, a temptation but hopefully also a lesson in the long run.

God does the same for me with sin in my life. Sometimes the temptation to sin is just too great and no matter how I try, I always end up dabbling in it a bit. When a particular thing is a great temptation to me, I pray and ask God to remove the temptation from my life. But in a sinful world, this is an impossibility. Sin is ever present not only in my life, but in the world. Instead, I need to rely on God’s grace to help me face my temptation and turn from it.

Paul tells us in Romans 6:12 to “not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies”. As Christians, we are free from the bondage of sin. It no longer has the power to control what we say or do. Paul goes on to say in verse 14 that “sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Our power comes from the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. We are to “present your members to God as instruments of righteousness” to become holy and blameless in His sight.

So what am I to do when the temptation of sin beckons me to come and join in? How do I turn from sin and choose righteousness? During those moments of temptation, when my flesh is weak, I pray that God will remind me that sin has lost its power in my life. I pray that my spirit will be strong. James 4:7 tells us to “submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” By His grace, I am no longer subject to the law. The price has been paid and I am free in Christ.

It's been a busy week here at Gentility so I haven't had as much time to write as I would like! Today's post is another blast from the past I originally wrote in 2005. Hope you enjoyed it!