Why do we sin?
Not an easy question to answer, but one that every person needs to ask themselves.
The answer is much simpler than one would think. It doesn’t require diving into deep theology, or having a degree in Biblical studies. All we need to do is take a look at one popular bit of advice that the world, and a lot of Christian’s, always repeat.
Follow your heart.
I cringe every time I hear it. Oh, it sounds pleasant enough, and it’s one of the easiest things to do, but did you know that that bit of advice is not found in the Bible? On the contrary, the Bible describes our hearts as deceitfully wicked and that from our hearts come evil thoughts that lead to sin. So, in essence, our heart will often lead us astray.
So…why do we sin?
The answer is as clear as day. Sin is a matter of the heart.
Because Adam and Eve followed their own hearts and sinned against God, we are all born into sin. That’s why a baby’s first word is usually “no”. We naturally gravitate toward sin, and as we grow older it becomes easier to not only forget, but to forsake God, in favor of what our hearts want. If we’re not careful, following our heart into sin becomes routine.
But the good news is that we don’t have to sin. We have a choice.
When we’re tempted to follow our heart we can either yield to that temptation or we can choose what God wants us to do. We choose whether or not to continue in sin. And when we come to the end of our days and stand before God, the only thing that will determine where we will spend eternity is what we chose to do.
God will not, and does not, force us to do anything we don’t want to do. He will put up roadblocks, and give us a way to escape, but in the end, if we follow our hearts into sin, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”
Jeremiah 17:9-10