Earlier this week I published a Note saying,
‘The more I learn and study the Bible, the more I realize how far today’s society has strayed from it. Big and small. The obvious and the subtle.
And there is so much of the subtle. You don’t realize it until you realize how things are actually supposed to be, biblically, and once you start seeing it, you see more and more.
It’s scary and sad at the same time. But it’s a good reminder why we are commanded to not be like the world. We’re supposed to stand out and be different.’
And I was surprised at how much engagement it got so I thought that for this week’s Post I will expand upon that Note.
The basic idea in that Note was that although there are some big things that are bad that each individual is able to see, they are not likely to stumble because of it, because they saw it from afar off. They were able to put their guard up, because they were able to see it for what it was.
What we have to watch out for is the subtle sins, the sins society has normalized, the small sins, and the moments you are weak.
That is how Satan slips in.
There are two kinds of sins I see at large. The subtle and the normalized. And more and more my spirit rebels against them.
The Subtle Sin
Subtle sins are often the ones we don’t notice, or that we justify. It’s a small compromise here, a little justification there. But that is how Satan squeezes himself through the cracks. And you are fooling yourself if you think he is going to be content with the little sins you’ve decided to live with. He might wait awhile but you can be sure that he will pounce on your next weak moment.
Never has there been a more opportunistic predator as him. It might be a small compromise for you, but people are very good at adapting, and soon it will no longer be a fresh sin. It would have become your new normal. And then he will go to working again, getting you to accept another sin, or sometimes he lets you slip from something great to good, and you tell yourself, ‘oh, this isn’t bad. It is also good.’ But it is less good than what you had, and the truth is, before you know it, you’ll find that you have gone a long way away from where you should be.
The subtle sin is the small, quiet one. It’s the sin that may not even look like sin at first. It doesn’t come loudly, horns blowing and full of red flags. It is quiet, it doesn’t attract attention to itself. It is the small ‘I deserve this little indulgence’ or ‘It’s not that big of a deal’ or ‘Only this once’ but the truth is, that is how the devil gets a foothold. Quite some time might pass, but then life will come, beating you up and you will indulge again… just a little. And then it might become more often. And you will find yourself slipping away from God one little step at a time when you should have been striving to get closer to Him.
Song recommendation: Slow Fade by Casting Crowns
These sins all to often seem harmless. But they will find a way to work themselves in. Always, always, keep an eye out for the small justifications you find yourself making. A good way to guard against them is to tell someone about them. Go to a brother or sister in Christ, someone who keeps you accountable, and tell them.
Remember, the devil thrives when you are alone. He will warp your mind and make you believe that what you are doing is not that bad. How many times has that happened and then things got to the point where someone was going to find out and you find yourself panicking, and realizing how bad things had become. That is how you know how bad the thing is that you have normalized.
A spouse, a friend, your church or a church member, you need them to keep you strong and in line. Accountability is way underrated. And they may very well be one of your best guards against the subtle sins.
The Normalized Sin
If the subtle sin discussed in this Post is going to feel like a personal attack on people then the normalized sin will definitely feel like one. But the truth is, it feels like this to me too.
Normalized sin is us adapting or caving in because it is so rampant in society around us. It is so integrated with us, our childhoods, our dreams, our current lives, and our fond memories. We grew up with it. It has become part of our identities. We’ve been exposed to it since we were just babies, and so have become desensitized to it without even us knowing.
It’s in our music, our movies, our books, our media, news, everything, everywhere. And you don’t realize it until someone from outside of our culture comes in and they look at all of this with fresh eyes. Eyes that hasn’t been desensitized and adapted to our current state.
How normalized has weak fathers and husbands become? Disrespectful wives? How normal has it become for both sexes to be promiscuous? For men to casually joke around about bedding a girl for a night or a weekend? For women to dress immodestly? We are even sexualizing children now, and dressing little girls in bikinis. The nuclear family is ‘uncool’. How many of our superheroes have healthy relationships with girls they are supposed to love? How many men are shown in our entertainment to be Christ-centered and sacrifice for their family? How many women have utterly discarded their femininity? Scientists give all credit of nature to nature. God isn’t even mentioned once.
Our music deifies or trashes the opposite sex.
Our movies depict both men and women rejecting their God-given roles. Men are inept losers, women run the households.
Our fantasy books focuses on the self, instead of the God without. Our romance novels are smut.
Clothes stores have inappropriate clothes for children
Everywhere we go standards are dropping, and people are becoming more and more vile. Our movies are porn. There is inappropriate music playing from the speakers in restaurants. News reporters dress immodestly. Ads have become suggestive and profane.
Sin has saturated our society. It is all around us. We don’t even notice it anymore. It is so pervasive that we start thinking it’s normal. It’s not.
We are in a war. A battle. And it is raging all around us. It is all we can do to fight against it. And let me tell you, alone, you will not have the strength to stand up against it. But with God, and His infinite strength, you will be able to fight till the end of your days. And you will be able to fight a good fight.
Final Thoughts
It is more important than ever to maintain a relationship with your Father. To be close to Him in prayer. To serve Him in deed. To give glory to Him in all you do. To immerse yourself in the goodness of His Word. It is the only way you will be able to keep your heart and mind pure.
Imagine yourself in a river, ever pulling you downstream. No matter what you do, you will be pulled further and further. Now imagine a rock in the middle of the river. That is God. It’s going to be a fight to hang unto that rock, but as long as you hold on, you will not be able to be pulled further downstream.
God is our rock. And we must hold onto Him with all of our strength.
Thank you so much for reading! I have just opened a ‘Buy me a coffee’ account if you wanted to support my work.
Have a great and blessed weekend!!