Mother May I?

from May 2020

For Such A Time As This

by Melanie James

Do you remember the old game from childhood called “Mother, May I”? If not, it’s a game where everyone stands at a certain start line except “mother,” and one at a time, you ask if you can take a specific action to move forward (take three steps or two hops or five baby steps, for example), and “mother” would reply with a yes or a no.

I was thinking today that sometimes we treat God’s instructions a little bit like that game. We may read the Bible as a list of mere suggestions for living, and we try to skirt around or disregard those “suggestions” we don’t like. We sometimes even try to reason with God, asking Him to look the other way when we do the things we know we shouldn’t. At best, it’s a poor attempt to try to love God AND the things of the world. At worst, it’s an abuse of the grace that was so costly to our Savior who died in our place. So how should we look at the things that Scripture calls sin? How should we live our everyday lives in the face of such knowledge?

I think the answer is in understanding that the reason Scripture tells us to avoid certain things is for our own good! God isn’t a cosmic investigator putting out red tape everywhere, trying to set obstacles and watch us jump hurdles for entertainment. He’s more like a loving parent who sets rules and boundaries in the best interests of the child they love and want to protect! There is such a misunderstanding sometimes that living God’s ways, according to Scripture, is taking a path of deprivation, suffering, and self-denial. The truth is that God’s path leads to joy and peace! There is great reward in a life lived for God in obedience to His commands.

I have friends who truly love God but are stuck in a cycle of falling into the same sins over and over again, to disastrous results. One thing these friends have in common is that they don’t see the significant role that these sins have in the causing of or contributing to the problems they keep finding themselves wrapped up in. They downplay sin as if there is no other way to live and are genuinely confused when life is full of trials and heartache. I wish that I could help them see how destructive sin is in our lives. Satan lives to use it to steal from, kill, and destroy us. He hates us, and he wants us as far away from God as he can get us. Sin is his vehicle.

Be vigilant, friends! Don’t look at the wisdom of Scripture as a helpful list of “suggestions” for life with an option to live by or ignore. Don’t think of God’s precepts for living as a “May I do this? May I do that?” list of legalistic rules. Don’t make it easy for Satan to attack you and keep you going around in circles. Understand that God’s ways are always higher than our own and that we CAN avoid sin and live by the Word. Gently admonish and encourage fellow believers who are living openly in sin and struggling in life. It isn’t “kind” to let others believe a lie when you know the truth. It’s not always easy to be vigilant about acknowledging sin and its effects, but it is always the best response.

Christ already did the hard part for us, the part we couldn’t do, by dying on the cross to defeat sin’s power once and for all. Because of that, we have hope that one day, sin will be completely gone forevermore. And until that day, we fight sin every day. We read the Bible, we study it, and we apply it to our lives. We share the good news with those around us—Jesus is the cure for the sin problem in the world today!