Progression
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton
I ran across an interesting quote:
"Never open the door to the lesser evil, for another and greater one invariably will slink in after it." [Baltasar Gracian, Spanish philosopher]
He makes a good point. Satan is never content to leave a person struggling with just one sin. It would be too easy to escape if he did. Instead, using the weakness gained when one sin overcomes a person's defenses, he moves to introduce additional sins. You can see that in your own situation. It never was just marijuana. Procrastination and laziness come from the use of it, which isn't a part of your natural personality. You took up lying to cover your tracks. You became prideful as you were determined to go through life alone. You took up drinking beer, a product you've told me many times that you don't even like the taste. Profanity entered your speech as you hung around profane people and lost your inhibitions. Religion stopped being a daily thought and you figured going once a week was good enough. You even chose sin over your dearest friend and brother, something I would have never guessed you would do. Then there was the taking of money that was justified as "borrowing." At one point you were even convinced that if you were going to sin, you might as well go all out and chase everything you've denied yourself. Satan never leaves a person alone, does he?
"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful" (Romans 1:28-31).
The reason I and others aren't leaving you alone in your sins is because we are trying hard to stop the progression of sin, even as you keep foolishly fighting us. We love you too much to let you go. Close the door on sin.
