Kids love slime...I get it. Parents? Not so much. I believe I just heard a thousand hallelujahs from parents everywhere.
Recently my 7 year old daughter was able to choose from a goodies box at church and guess what happened to catch her eye? Slime. Yes, the dreaded slime that parents love to clean from their carpet, walls and now apparently ceilings. See Evidence #1.
Do you see the paper substance stuck to the slime? Ok great...that literally is paper.
My daughter knows that I dislike slime with a passion (for obvious reasons) and when I decide to show grace toward her and let her play with it, it had to be in the kitchen area where it can be cleaned up easily. She began playing with it, but after some time she decided to play with the slime in my bathroom, unbeknownst to me. When I caught her she said, "mom, it is easy to clean it up in here, too." Ok, i'll let that one slide—she is right. So, I told her to only keep it in the bathroom. Did she listen? Apparently not. If you forgot, please examine Evidence #1 again.
I'm used to my daughter drawing pictures and placing them over all the walls—this is nothing new. A few days ago I noticed that she taped—very well I might add—a piece of paper to my ceiling above my bed. I didn't suspect anything, so I left it until my bed wasn't made. I didn't want to mess it up by climbing on it (OCD, I know).
I would have taken a picture of it to show you her craftiness, but on the outside it looked innocent. I didn't know there was anything hiding underneath. Since the paper blended in with the ceiling it was almost an "out of sight out of mind" thing...until this morning.
With my tip toes on my bed, I reached for her masterpiece. Then wondered, how in the world did she even get up here? I can barely reach it myself! After examining, she was able to reach the ceiling by standing on top of my headboard. See Evidence #2. Do you see it?
This is one way to give mom a heart attack.
After taking the paper off the ceiling, her secret had been exposed. You guessed it...slime was underneath the paper. In the few days the paper covered up the slime, not once had she owned up to what she had done or asked for help to remove it!
What is worse than the wet and gooey slime?
Dried slime...located on your ceiling...that you can barely reach...that caused damage.
See Evidence #3.
Do you see the chunk taken out?
I'm sure some think that "a little slime won't hurt anyone." Right? Wrong! Slime reminds me of sin...it is destructive.
So, let's break SIN down. Believe it or not there is a pattern that scripture gives us in James 1:13-15 (NASB).
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
1. It starts with temptation and listening to a lie. "But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust."
When tempted, a seed is being sown to listen or reject what is being said. It will always look innocent at first, but behind it is evil motives with one goal—destruction.
You see something you want, just like my daughter saw the slime. She saw the pretty pink color, filled with shimmering glitter. Nothing else in that box could compare to it. This is what she wanted! But, she knew that slime was banned from the house. She found herself at a crossroads—moving forward with bring the slime home or making a different choice in the box. While temptation isn't a sin itself, if not rejected, will lead to it.
2. You begin dwelling on the temptation. "Then when lust has conceived..."
The word conceive means to receive and take hold of it. You are holding fast to it, dwelling on how it will make you happy. Or, how it could benefit you. This is when my daughter began to play with the slime in her mind and how much she loves it. Then wondering if she batted her beautiful brown eyes at me, I would give in...just this once. Still...not a sin.
3. Then you begin to believe the lie the temptation is feeding you. "It gives birth to sin..."
This is the point where you are about to make your decision. It is becoming exciting in your mind. The birth is almost here! My daughter could taste it...she is about to bring that slime home with her! In her mind she knows she will get her way and get to play with it. But, still not a sin.
4. You ACT. "and when sin is accomplished..."
BAM...you have made your move. This is now sin—there is no turning back. The act has been completed. You have believed the lie from the temptation. But, this is where the act of the sin can look like a honeymoon phase. It appears to be great and the grass seems greener! You may feel freedom and invincible, but destruction is up ahead.
In my daughters mind, she thought she won. She convinced me to let her play with it, just this once, in the kitchen. But, one sin led to another. She disobeyed yet again by moving her operations to my bathroom. Then, got more brave and moved it by my bed, with slime ending up on my ceiling. This ended with a cover up...the paper taped to my ceiling.
Sound familiar? Lying, then lying more to cover up the original one?
5. Lastly, you find yourself in bondage. "it brings forth death."
While sin at the time may seem small and innocent, it can bring upon death—physical or spiritual. This is exactly what the serpent wanted Eve to believe in Genesis 3:4-7.
The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin entered the world for the first time. They had trouble all their lives because of one sin. You may be experiencing the consequences of your actions by losing your family through adultery, the effects of drugs, or through relationships. Shame, guilt, worthlessness, defeat, and so on comes right along beside those consequences. You may even find yourself not knowing how to get out and feeling all is lost.
After I found the sin and the extremes she went to in order to cover it up, she was punished. Consequences of her actions were in full force and things that she loved were taken away. She felt in that moment the weight of her sin. Lie after lie, she thought she had it covered up and I would never find out.
Have you experienced this?
So, how do you get out of bondage? Expose the sin. Own up to what you did and confess it to Jesus, the One who can forgive you. While this may seem scary, it will draw you closer to God. He is FAITHFUL to forgive—you are never too far gone. Then, be obedient to Him. The life He wants you to receive is rewarding and fulfilling—nothing like sin promises.
After everything was exposed this morning, we had a good talk about temptation and sin on the way to school. I asked her, "If you had obeyed me to begin with, and not brought the slime home, would you have gotten yourself into this mess to begin with?" Her response was "no." I then guided her to pray to Jesus and ask for forgiveness for her specific sins. Afterwards, do you know what she felt? Freedom. Her inner peace was restored through our Heavenly Father. Freedom is not IN sin, it is IN Christ by being obedient to His TRUTH.
If we take every thought captive to begin with, that could save us a LOT of trouble in the future. You must ask yourself, "will this thought lead to sin or obedience?"
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (ESV).
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
Do I think that I should have stopped it to begin with? Sure, but this also brought about a teachable moment that can never be taken away. We learn by our choices and actions, hence "free will".
Consequences, as hard as they are, are designed to lead you back to Christ. Just like a parent disciplines their child, our Heavenly Father uses the consequences of sin to bring you back to repentance and fellowship with Him. Why? Because He loves you.
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