Sin is Fun!

Sin Is Fun

Well… it IS… right?

Now, I know… you are almost immediately thinking, “No, it leads to…”, but I am hoping you will focus with me on this quick simple sentence… Sin is Fun.   No two ways about it…  whatever we are not supposed to be doing is always fun to do… fun to experience…. fun to escape to, even to explore some new territory of life…  a quiet guilt… a quiet shame, maybe… a quiet little season of relief from the stress, the pressure, the tensions of life.

Sure, sin is fun and actually quite a hoot… for a season anyway.  That is one of the core things about sin that is so hard to grasp while sin is taunting us… while we are distracted by the potential fun… the pending excitement… 

The anticipation of the probable and gleefully exhilarating thrill of the encounter…. aaaahhhhh….  the endorphin release seems SO necessary and seems to almost justify that this ‘sin’ thing is really OK, after-all.  I mean… God DOES want us to enjoy life… to experience happiness… to learn and grow.

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17

Wait…  who is to say what Sin even is, in the first place? What “I” think is right, you may consider wrong.  What one country or culture deems wrong, many others consider appropriate, acceptable, even encouraged.

Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Hebrews 11:25

It is the tail end of that passage that clearly defines sin… pleasure for a season.  No… not ALL pleasure is a sin…  just that pleasure only lasts for a season, and sin is an ugly form of pleasure.  Sure, pleasure is always good… right?  Your sins/escapes will vary from other peoples’ sin/escapes.  Essentially though, we can summarize things this way;

• Sin – Things that separate us from loved ones; anger, rejection, breaking a vow/promise, lieing. Sin is actually defined as; any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.

• Fun – Things that titillate and provide pleasure, such as; Partying, Dancing, Entertainment, Sex, Drinking.

• Seasons – always changing, always in the same sequence. Seasons can be defined as; a period of time marked by certain conditions, activities, or events to name a few.

Examples? Please keep in mind, these following examples are all OK, in-and-of themselves.  Enjoying life is NOT a sin… it is NOT contrary to God, His will, His leading… doing these ‘instead’ of following the Lord is a Sin!  Go back up and re-read the first portion of that passage from Hebrews… it states, “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God…”NO!  Not being pious… not being isolated… not even just attending a church service instead of Golfing, say.  Our society puts so much focus and advertising energy in an effort to convince us just how fun these things are…  not really sure WHY they do that, because almost everyone knows they are exciting!  There was a commercial many years ago that stated, “It just doesn’t get any better than this.“, and they are right… well… unless you know the Lord!  Jesus said, “I am come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.” So yea.. it CAN be ‘better than this’.

Drinking and Partying is one area that just thrills…  well… aside from the social anxiety of meeting new people, or being in a group, or in a location that is new…  drinking or drugs… partying…  music concerts…  just having a ‘blow out’ kind of time, is very, VERY fun.  There is, however, a certain point to which that level of fun, exhilaration, and that thrilling Yahhhoooo fun can begin to dull… lose it’s zeal… even get to the point of being boring.  One of those ‘too much of a good thing’, things, huh!

Drinking and Partying is fun… for a season!

I really enjoy a well designed roller coaster ride.  Some are just freaky steep, or too twistie… even over hyped.   But a smooth, fast, and well laid-out roller coaster ride can be exhilarating, thrilling, and very, very inviting for a 2nd, 3rd, and many more trips!  Now…  a roller coaster ride is by no means a sin…  well… obsessive sure, but it sure would not seem like a sin… right?It is actually that thrill… that exhilaration…. that fun energy I am trying help you grasp.  Too often, our attempts to keep that excitement level in our lives can be something of an escape… something of a replacement for the sorrow or somberness our normal life hands us.

A Thrilling Roller-coaster Ride is fun… for a season!

Eating is yet another way we seek fulfillment or satisfaction.  Sure, we must eat to survive… to exists… to be healthy.  Eating does take on another characteristic for us, too…  something that is actually so prevalent in our lives anymore these days, it is the norm.  Overeating is such a tough practice to keep in check, too…  the taste of food… the feeling in our bellies…  the pleasant odors…  just the way some foods trigger the saliva glands as our bodies prepare to ingest the food!!Too much though….  bloating… overweight… sluggishness… sleepy…  just so many bad things occur!

Eating or Overeating is fun… for a season!

Please keep in mind… as you ponder these ‘thrill’ things (and others) in your life… this writing is NOT to point out that you are sinning… how you are sinning (doing something I may not do)… or even that these items are even sin…  it is the ‘thrill’ we get from these ‘things’ that actually becomes the sin! See that?

As that opening scripture from James 4:17 noted, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.“, so you have to face the Lord over things in YOUR life…  and only Him!  Sure, society puts ‘shame’ on many things in life, but you answer to the Lord. More than ‘what it is’ though…  I am presenting the ‘what it does’ for us, part.

See… it is the ‘…for a season‘ part that has always gotten my attention.  Just how long can we sustain a pleasant, thrilling, or even fulfilling thing in our lives. I am pretty sure you can agree to any and all of the following;

• I dislike Sorrow

• I dislike Pain

• I dislike Loneliness

• I dislike Anger

• I dislike Emptiness

• I dislike Fear

We tend to overcompensate our lives… these dislikes… with pleasures… with thrills… with happiness, really.  So much so, we lose track of just how sad… how hurt… even how scared we actually are.  If you have a chance, read the “Pursuit of Sadlessness” here on the site. It helps explain how much trouble we are actually going to in an effort to avoid the ‘noise’ of our fears.

Avoiding sin is the best way to go.  Sure, way easier said than done and since we all define or perceive sin to be different, who is to really say how you are going to avoid sin.  That is not so much up to you as much as it is your responsibility to work it out… to figure it out… to find you own way… well… sort of!  I mean, the Bible says in Philippians 2:12 that we are to “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”  You read that right…  work out your OWN salvation!

No, goofy… not ‘get saved on your own‘… not ‘we are saved by working at it‘… not even ‘your salvation depends on your works‘.  Your salvation was bought with the Blood of Jesus and His sacrifice for you…  take that ‘salvation’ and put it on (like a funky fitting coat), and ‘work out’ how it fits on you… how you move in it… how you live in it.  But… NEVER forget the end of that passage… “with fear and trembling“.  Be respecting of His love for you… of His will for you… of His leading and calling for you.

Obtain a lasting joy through the Holy Spirit in your life.  Remember… sin is great fun… sin is a great fulfiller… sin is a great means of exhilaration, thrills, and even that wonderful feeling of being alive…  but… for a season!  Lasting joy…   everlasting joy…  never ending joy, fulfillment, and thorough peace can only be obtained through the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

I know… again… easier said than done.  Well… no, actually.  Just easy… simple… plain.   Just trust the Lord for His peace in your life! See… we tend to RUN to the easy pleasures… to the quick and tangible thrills… to the ‘within my grasp and control’ activities that we know will give us pleasure (a hobby….  a vice… a pending event).  Take the time to let the Lord have His way in your life AND let your inner-person (your spirit) get use to waiting… to resting on His timeline… to gleaning His peace in your heart.

Enjoy peace and fulfillment through all seasons of your life… not just as ‘flash in the pan’ moments like Sin does for us.  Being consistent with His will for your life will help level out those highs-n-lows… help stabilize your spirit, your personality, even your very life.

For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end. Hebrews 3:14

Sure… we all sin… we all fail… we all struggle with keeping a consistent and growing life with the Lord.  But, it is these Sin Escapades that keep setting us back… keep derailing the forward progress… keep convincing us that these ‘instant gratification’ mechanisms aren’t all that bad… harmless… silly little splashes of fun!  Remember though, the Bible ‘does’ say in Romans 6:23, “…the wages of sin is death“… and like Adam and Eve misunderstanding that this did not mean physical death…  the death of your spirit… your connection to the Lord… your very life…  is subtle, quiet, and not-so-easy to recognize.