We all have jobs to do. Whether they are at home, at your workplace, at church, or somewhere else, every single person has tasks that need to be accomplished. Some of these tasks are simple, some are huge, but they all have one thing in common…they need to be done.
The Israelites were no different. Their task was to take the land and clear out the wicked people in the process. They had one job, and more often than not, they failed. Instead of completely wiping out the inhabitants of the land they were conquering, they hesitated and left survivors.
No big deal, we may think, but because the Israelites failed to do the job right the first time, years later it became much more difficult to do. Numbers 33:55 says it this way…
“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your side. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.”
That is exactly what happened. Instead of remaining faithful to God, the Israelites struggled with worshipping the idols of the wicked people they failed to get rid of in the Promised Land.
Christians today are doing the same thing.
When we get saved, and start our Faith walk with Christ, we are called to get rid of the sin in our lives. The mark of a Christian is a changed life. We are no longer slaves to sin, but instead, we are called to be victorious over them.
But too often we don’t want to get rid of the sins in our lives. We think that our ‘pet’ sins are harmless, no big deal, they almost seem comforting. We justify them by telling ourselves, “Our sin isn’t hurting anyone, so why give it up?” Whether it’s a bad habit, an unhealthy relationship, a certain lifestyle, a way of thinking, or something else entirely, it’s easier to continue sinning than to do the job that God is asking us to do.
Our ultimate job is to lead others to Christ. And in order for us to do that, we must be willing to model what a true follower of Jesus looks like. And trust me, a true follower of Christ doesn’t look like the world.
That doesn’t mean we won’t struggle with sin, but it does mean that we will struggle with sin. Our end goal is to be like Christ, and to do that, we have to be willing to cut out anything in our lives that draws us away from Him.
No one is perfect, only Jesus is, so while we may have failed to do the job right the first time, there is hope. We still have a job to do. It’s time Christian, to kill your sin.