Sin Triggers

What Causes You To Sin?  Now there is a loaded question.  But, think about it.  What are your “sin triggers”?  Sin triggers can be anything that causes us to sin, but especially those things that cause us to knowingly sin.  Everyone has them.  I have them.  Everyone tries to escape them.  I try to escape them.  After all, no good Christian consciously wishes to sin.  We try to please God in all that we do.  At least, that is what we strive for. 

But the devil is a cunning little deceiver.  He puts things in our path that stir up selfish, sinful desires.  Smokers, drinkers and addicts fight these desires every day and, sadly, most of them lose the battle.  But it is not only the addict that struggles daily with “sin triggers”.  We all do. 

Many of our sins are committed out of greed, lust, and a need for acceptance.  We want more than we’ve been given, we want what someone else has, we want to be noticed.  Our triggers cause a war to rage inside our heads.  On the one side you know that it is wrong.  On the other, you try to rationalize your sin or to talk yourself into believing it is okay to do this sin.  We think to ourselves, “Who is it going to hurt?” 

But that isn’t really the point, is it?  The Lord only restricts us from things that cause harm to ourselves, others and our relationship with Him; lying, adultery, murder, greed, jealousy, etc.  So, who do these sins hurt?  Everyone you love.  Everyone I love. 

So, I ask again, what are your sin triggers?  Is it perusing a social media site and finding yourself coveting what someone else has?  Perhaps it is looking at ads and being jealous of the way someone else looks.  Maybe you have an addiction to pornography that you cannot resist once the computer turns on.  Everyone fights a different battle, but we are all battling the same enemy. 

Jesus says that “if your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away” (Matthew 5:29a, NIV).  Does that mean that Jesus wants us to cut our eyes out if they cause us to sin?  Absolutely not!  It means that we are to remove things from our lives that cause us to sin.  Many times it is only through drastic measures that we can conquer sin.  For some, it means a complete change of lifestyle.  For others, it may mean making small changes to avoid tempting situations.    

In any case, try to identify your own sin triggers.  In doing so you will not only be able to walk closer to God, but you can avoid the devil’s other great trick—guilt.