Verse: 1 Corinthians 5:6-7
6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
Thoughts
Years ago I decided to make some cookies to surprise my family. I used my wife's recipe which calls for some salt of course. But I misread the teaspoons for tablespoons. So instead of a little bit of salt, I put in a lot of salt.
When we started eating them we were all immediately aware that the salt had invaded every single cookie. It tasted like a chocolate chip cookie that had spent the day swimming in the ocean. It was terrible. (sidenote: I took them to youth group later that night and they were all eaten....no complaints! LOL)
This is what sin does to our lives. We try to have "a little bit of sin" in our lives. We think we can compartmentalize the sin. We say things like, "it's not hurting anyone" or "other people do worse" or "it's not that bad" or "everyone's doing it." Have you ever said or thought one of those rationalizations?
The Scripture tells us that sin spreads. It creeps. It grows. It slowly pervades our minds, our hearts, our thoughts, our actions.....it seeks to destroy us. It's like an enemy virus that's infecting our lives.
Paul's advice is to work hard to get rid of the sin which so easily trips us up. To not turn a blind eye towards it and pretend it won't hurt us. It will. It is.
So what sin are you ignoring right now in your life? What sin are you hoping won't end up being a big deal? What sin are you rationalizing away? Ask Jesus to help you. Don't slide into self hatred or condemnation - that won't help. But ask Jesus, "how can I move towards freedom in this area?" And maybe, just maybe, share with a trusted friend or mentor to get some prayer. It will be worth it.
Prayer
Jesus, I know that sin wants to sneakily destroy me. I need your help. Give me eyes to see the sin I'm hiding, and help me to find freedom.