![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/police-300x162.jpg\")
“I better tum around, I must have missed it,” I thought.<\/p>\nI was late for an appointment, driving in an unfamiliar part of North Carolina, and my PT Cruiser was beeping at me because it was low on gas. The exit sign said, “Gas 0.5 miles,” but I had already gone more than a mile down the obscure side road and there seemed to be nothing but yellow pines on both sides.<\/p>\n
“I better tum around, I must have missed it,” I thought.<\/p>\n
“Why was this traffic light red? There is no cross traffic.<\/p>\n
“I can see all directions for 500 yards, I’ll just make a U-tum from this left-hand lane and go back to find that gas station. Oh, no! Where did that cop come from?<\/p>\n
“Yes, Officer, I was just in a hurry. I knew the light was red when I entered the intersection.”<\/p>\n
Have you ever wondered why we sin? I mean, even when I know ahead of time to look out, somehow the sin is right in front of me\u00a0and before I know\u00a0it, I succumb to it\u00a0and I’m hanging\u00a0my head in both\u00a0sorrow and disbelief\u00a0that a split second\u00a0earlier everything\u00a0was fine but now I\u00a0have another regret.\u00a0Now I have another reason to encumber the grace of Christ.<\/p>\n
The reason\u00a0we sin, I believe, is not because we are inherently evil, and unless we consciously suppress ourselves all the time the sin will just ooze out of our pores. It is not because we really want to sin. The reason we sin, I believe, is because it is so <\/b>convenient.<\/p>\n
What is so convenient? Well, today in the USA almost everything is convenient. Except for those who are smart enough to be without one, our television set brings the lust of the eyes into immediate focus with the flick of the left thumb. Perhaps the punishment of Adoni-bezek (Judges 1:7) would help here, but that aside, have you considered disabling the remote? If we can’t tear ourselves away from the television itself, at least (one might think) we could get up out of our potato chips long enough to walk over to the electronic cyclops to change the channel. I know. That’s a crazy idea. I won’t do it either.<\/p>\n
However, it seems to me that much of our problem with sin today in America has to do with the conveniences we take for granted. They seem so good and economical and time-saving. A computer makes writing letters and doing my finances so simple. A faster computer makes the process even simpler. Now I can write to all my friends by just changing the address and a few words here and there so they don’t know I was thinking about someone else when I wrote them. It is so easy to deceive. The same Internet system that I can use to do my Bible study, enables the porn industry to gain virtually instant access to anyone with hormones. It is so easy to be tempted.<\/p>\n
Let me not take more of your time to provide a discussion of the convenience afforded by stockbrokers and financial planners to slip over the line that distinguishes tax evasion from tax avoidance. I won’t elaborate on the ease with which we are drawn into breaking the speed limits because traffic enforcement does not even begin until you are 10 to 15 mph over the legal limit. Let’s just say there are many ways we sin just because it is so easy for us to do so.<\/p>\n
Now, you might ask, am I just a helpless victim of the inevitable sin that so conveniently presents itself? Am I destined to a life of sin just because the circumstances around me make it almost impossible to avoid breaking the Jaws of God?<\/p>\n
Let’s let God’s word provide some answers. Don’t focus on convenience, focus on God:<\/p>\n
“And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry. But God said unto him, You foolish one, this night is your soul required of you; and the things which you have prepared, whose shall they be? So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God<\/em>” (Luke 12:19-21).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Ease or convenience itself is not sinful, careless ease of fools is sinful:<\/p>\n
“For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them, and the careless ease of fools shall destroy them<\/em>” (Proverbs 1:32).<\/p>\n
“Rise up, you women that are at ease, and hear my voice; you careless daughters, give ear unto my speech<\/em>” (Isaiah 32:9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
If it is convenient to sin, it is also convenient to help the poor and the needy:<\/p>\n
“Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and prosperous ease were in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy<\/em>” (Ezekiel 16:49).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Yes, it is convenient to sin. It is also convenient to do good. The next time you prepare a meal for someone who needs it; think how difficult it could have been but how easy it really was. The next time you give somebody a ride to the doctor’s office or to church, think about what it might have been like to do that favor 200 years ago and appreciate how convenient it is today. The next time you think, “That’s a lot of trouble.” Take a moment to understand that there is very\u00a0little in our society today that has not been made extremely easy. Go ahead. Feel a little guilty. Then, get up off the couch and go help someone who needs encouragement more than you do.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Mark Chatfield Sentry Magazine, June 2002 I was late for an appointment, driving in an unfamiliar part of North Carolina, and my PT Cruiser was beeping at me because it was low on gas. The exit sign said, “Gas 0.5 miles,” but I had already gone more than a mile down the obscure side…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[179],"class_list":["post-31749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88534,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-world-under-the-curse-of-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":31749,"position":0},"title":"A World Under the Curse of Sin","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Suffering brings to the front one of the most universal questions: why? Why does God allow it to happen? Why this place? Why this time? Why allow the innocent to suffer and die? We don't understand, and because we don't understand, we may look to God and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69912,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sin-and-gods-glory\/","url_meta":{"origin":31749,"position":1},"title":"Sin and God\u2019s Glory","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer The problem of sin is sometimes difficult to assess because of our perspective. We see what we consider a \"small\" sin and then react strongly when the punishment does not seem to fit the crime. Because we tend to minimize the sin, we may under-appreciate the consequences.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32755,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/walking-in-the-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":31749,"position":2},"title":"Walking in the Light","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Perry Hall What does walking in the light mean? On one side proponents claim walking in darkness happens when the Christian commits even one sin; \"sin is darkness, after all.\" The opposing side counters, walking in light describes a life-style, not each punctiliar action - \"its a walk, not one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86872,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/fulfill-doesnt-imply-ended\/","url_meta":{"origin":31749,"position":3},"title":"“Fulfill” doesn’t imply ended","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: \"Jesus said, \"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44833,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/called-to-rise-above\/","url_meta":{"origin":31749,"position":4},"title":"Called to Rise Above","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 4:17-24 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I found an article the other day by Ray Gonzalez, of Mexico, that started me thinking ... \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There's Shorty, just standing ... scoping out the morning. Where will he strike today? Like a tiger, he is smelling the air to see where\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47777,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-we-are-not-born-sinful-then-why-does-everyone-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":31749,"position":5},"title":"If we are not born sinful, then why does everyone sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Mr. Hamilton, I'm a bit confused. It is possible to keep all of God's commandments, but I thought people will never be perfect on earth -- only God is perfect. Or does God demand perfection? But then we're not made right with God by our works. We are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31749\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}