Ooops

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:12-18 ESV). I am continuing to answer a few of the questions I have received over the last few months with a question from a young man who wrote and asked, “When is a sin a sin?” He went on to explain that he had read the Gospel of Matthew and the Sermon on the Mount had really concerned him. In that passage Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (cf. Matthew 5:27-28 ESV). The young man went on to say, “I guess I ought to just walk around blindfolded!” It leads me to ask, “When then does a person become guilty?” or, “Do we sin when we see a person of the opposite sex and feel sexually attracted to them?” The answer is a simple, “No.” You cannot sin by accident. There are no “ooops” when it comes to sin. James makes that very clear in our reading today. Sin is a matter of the heart, not a slip of the mind. In this particular case we ought to recognize that reality of attraction between the sexes is one of God’s good gifts. It may become the occasion of temptation, but being attracted to another person is not in itself sinful. We sin when we look someone other than our spouse, feel attracted to the person, and then hold on to the attraction, encourage it, and give free rein to it. Perhaps we fantasize about sexual involvement with that person. The next step in that progression would be sexual advances toward that person. We are called to “keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (cf. Proverbs 4:23). When our heart rests in Christ, it will recognize and appreciate the beauty of people but reject making a person an object of our desire. The process no longer becomes the focus; rather, God becomes our focus. This is true for other sins as well. Work diligently on your relationship with Christ and any sin becomes easier and easier to walk away from before it takes hold of your heart.