Seeing our sin...

How do you truly recognize when you are looking for an excuse for your sin? Well, it’s just like Eve in Gen. 3:1 – “Did God really say?” As young women, how often do we find ourselves asking some variation of this question. For example, in regards to our dress – “well God did not clearly outline the specifics of what is modest and immodest so how can we be so stringent?” or “Well God never said we couldn’t drink at all, so what’s the big deal?” or even seemingly good things – like a young man we are interested in or a job we wish to pursue, we challenge our authorities with responses like, “well Scripture is not really perfectly clear on this issue, so I have the freedom to pursue this even though my spiritual authorities have spoken up about their concerns”. What if your parents or pastors have voiced a concern and yet you press on to get what you want, when maybe their concern was the very thing God using to keep you in His will. Be cautious not to disregard this counsel, because you may just end up with exactly what you want and live to regret it. Sometimes God’s will is to let us pursue our own agenda, which in the end might be to our own demise! Don’t be like Eve, who even tried to reason that this fruit was “good for food” as a means of soothing her troubled conscience about what she desired in her own heart. This is manipulation. Be careful you are not trying to manipulate God’s will for your life, seeking to bend and twist it to your own interests.