Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So, whoever thinks he stands tall must be careful not to fall.     1 Corinthians 10:11 HCSB

Our Scripture passage today is speaking of those things which occurred in the Old Testament. If the Israelites did anything for us, they certainly showed us what not to do. They had a long-standing pattern of rebelliousness. All it ever brought them was heartache. God often referred to them as stiff-necked or stubborn.

Our pastor often says when the Bible says, “Thou shalt not” it’s really saying don’t hurt yourself. Your sin will harm you eventually. For a while it seems good and pleasurable, and we see no problem with it. We find ways to justify it in our minds and to others. But sin is bondage and is sometimes really difficult to break free from.

As Christians, our sin can even become generational. By this I mean, our children learn to sin from our sins. Smokers are much more likely to raise children that smoke. Drinkers are more likely to raise children that drink and maybe their children will take it to the next level and dabble in drug usage.

The problem with our sin is we try to justify it. We try to stand tall. We become prideful over our sin and unwilling to listen to the truth. One sin leads to another. We see this with the story of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel chapters 11-12.

We must be careful not to fall into sin. We use the words fall into sin because sin is like a hole and if you aren’t watching where you are going, you will fall. Once we fall into it, it’s hard to climb out.

So, I ask you today, have you fallen into sin? I’ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt. I’ve found myself trapped in it and feeling there was no way out. So, what did I do? Well, let me tell you. I cried out to God. I literally cried out to God and begged Him to help me out of the mess I had made, and He did.

This old world is a slippery slope. Sin is what everyone is doing these days and it’s easy for us to think we should do it too. We must not believe that lie of the devil. We must understand God is going to judge us for our sin.

We use the term fall when we refer to sin because it’s easy to fall into it, but hard to climb out of it. This is why we must stay close to God. When we do, we have no need to fear. Isaiah 41:10 says, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.”

When we acknowledge Him in all we do, He will guide us on the right paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). I can tell you there were times in my life where I did not acknowledge God because I knew I was doing wrong. I knew He didn’t approve. I knew I was violating His commands.

When we fall, we hurt ourselves. When we fall into sin, it’s no different. It’s harmful to our well-being.

Trust in God today. Acknowledge Him in all you do and allow Him to guide you on the right paths. Hold on tightly to His righteous right hand and He will hold you up and not allow you to fall.

Have a great day!