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Sin Is Like Those Russian Dolls
Sin Is Like Those Russian Dolls
I got reminded recently and reconfessed my laziness of 40 years ago. An acquaintance of mine was passing around a booklet at college, denying the deity of Jesus. Over Christmas break, I planned on writing a rebuttal. I never did. I got lazy. I let the festivities of life take priority over spiritual responsibilities. I even remember sitting at the dining room table, and then doing nothing. Apparently though, previously I had enough energy or ego to tell others of my plan! Was I boasting?
After Christmas break, three men approached me to see if I wanted to contribute my work with theirs that they were planning on making into a booklet. I hadn’t told them of my plans. I wasn’t in their circle of friends, although I desired such because everyone knew how smart they were. I wanted to be known as smart! Embarrassingly, and regrettably, I had nothing to share.
When I got reminded of my self-centered sin of 40 years ago, I confessed again my laziness. Oh, I added to the sin of laziness my new awareness of the sins of worldly priorities, egotism, and being boastful. That’s four sins so far for my one failure.
I felt anew the regret at not being associated with 3 other men whom I respected. Then I wondered, 40 years later, what possible future could have awaited me if I had been associated with such respected men?
As I was praying, I realized how I had fallen into another trap of Satan. Did you notice it? That’s 5 sins for one failure to do the right thing.
Too often I cannot claim as Paul did,
“so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.” (CSB’17 2 Corinthians 2:11)
Here is a sin I didn’t previously see, and so got schemed by Satan – I was more concerned about a future of fellowship, and with whom I would have been associated with, and who would have respected me; more concerned about me, than I was about my acquaintance’s future in eternity! Humbly I wonder, could I have said something to sway his thinking and his eternal future?
I confessed my new sin. As I confessed, I noticed another new sin. Did you notice it? That’s six sins committed for doing nothing!
The most grievous error I made was not my laziness, pride, boasting, nor even my focus on a possibly enhanced reputation (I’m losing track of my inadequaies!). No, my lack of self-confidence and need for respect, caused me to be so focused on self that I didn’t see the most important issue of all – I missed the opportunity to glorify Jesus; and to have this acquaintance fall on his knees and confess Jesus as “my Lord and my God” (John 20:28).
Forty years later, and I’m still learning how many ways I failed in that one incident. Could there be even more?
The point of this public confession is not self-flagellation. I have confidence that God’s grace is good and covers more than I know I need. The point is, beware, even when we see one snare of Satan, that doesn’t mean we’ve seen them all! Temptation and sin are like those Russian, matryoshka dolls. These are ones that are a set of dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another (The name matryoshka, literally means “little matron”). You don’t always see what’s all there!
Oh, and one more point. Did you notice all the sins I did, all because I did nothing?!
“So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.” (CSB’17 James 4:17)
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