~ written by Connie Dunmyer
Have you ever watched the sitcom, “Newhart”? Stephanie is a character on that show. She’s a spoiled rich girl, who finds herself in need of a job, and becomes a maid for a small Vermont inn. On the occasions when she realized she’d done something wrong, she would toss her hair, flip her hands, and quickly say “sorry, sorry, sorry”, so that the conversation would end and she didn’t have to think about what she’d done wrong anymore. She wasn’t really sorry. She just didn’t like getting caught.
2 Corinthians 7:10 – Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
Pastor Greg Laurie puts it this way: “In other words, if we’re really sorry for something we’ve done, then we will stop doing it. But to say we’re sorry and continue in a path of disobedience shows that we’re not sorry at all.”
I’ve also heard it referred to as “pet sins”. Now I don’t know about you, but I think it’s time I “put my pet sins to sleep”.
2 Corinthians 6:16–7:1 – We are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
So since God promises to live with us, to be our God, to be our Father, and that we are His people, His very children – we should at least care enough to . . .
- cleanse ourselves from contamination of the body AND spirit
- and to perfect holiness in our lives.
Wow! There’s something you don’t hear every day.
Now I’m not saying that as a human being I will ever do things perfectly. But when was the last time I didn't just use that as an excuse to do what I want? When was the last time I asked God to “perfect holiness” in my life? Or do I just go about my life as I choose and say “sorry sorry sorry” when I mess up? And more to the point, how often do I “play around” with the very things that I know I’m going to be “sorry for” later?
In a recent blog, I talked about how I tend to play around with worry. I pet it, feed it, and act like it’s okay to keep it around the house, when in fact it’s ready to eat me alive when I least expect it.
Bible Commentator, Adam Clarke says this: How can those expect God to purify their hearts who are continually indulging their eyes, ears, and hands in what is forbidden?
Worry is one of these areas in my life. For what is worry? Worry interferes with my ability to pray – to reach to the Father with a need. Oh one may retort ‘worry is the problem that drives me to the Father’. But I contend that worry is the outcome of not trusting the problem to the Father to begin with. And then we play with it, and feed it, and try to figure it all out on own (since God doesn’t seem to be listening we think). And inevitably we cannot figure it out . . . so we struggle and cry and wonder why oh why doesn’t God hear me! Well – at least that’s how it is in my life. So how can such a thing be “perfected” in my life?
Well it all begins and ends with Jesus and His sacrifice. By His death and via His grace we can have His righteousness. And not just in the next life – but today, in this life. When the Father sees us, He actually sees us through Jesus.
John 17:22-23 – I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
2 Corinthians 5:21 – God made him who had no sin to be a sin offering for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Think about a “pet sin” in your life. If you have one, perhaps it’s time to put it to death. You cannot do it yourself. Don’t try. It’s pointless. But if you give it to the Father, He WILL give you the Holy Spirit to help you day by day. Here’s a promise that can help when we do mess up and miss the mark:
2 Timothy 1:12, 14 – For I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard [to keep] what I have entrusted to him until that day. . . Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you — guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
We don’t do this alone. It’s a partnership. A connection. A oneness. It’s a marriage. A holy family. It’s a relationship with a loving Father Who really is there every single time we fail. Believe me, I know! And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 64 years life, it’s that when I do fail, running to the Father as quick as I can, is the absolute best thing I can ever do. Even if I feel like I'm constantly saying “sorry sorry sorry”.