Love Must Be Sincere

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Recently the question was posed to me, "What makes Christians commit the same sins over and over again?" As I thought about the sin in my life, the recurrent sin that is, I realized that I often continue in the same sin because it is what I know. I neglect my prayer life because it is a bad habit that has become a comfortable routine. I open the door to anger, because the hinges are oiled and grooves are deep; it opens easily. I feel safe with these sins. I know the course they will take and I know the resolution. The longstanding sins that I allow in my life are there, in some way, because I cling to them.

But in my contemplation I wonder what my life would look like if my clinging was to good things, not evil. What if, when I woke up in the morning, instead of spending 20 extra minutes getting ready, and in the process clung to my appearance, I spent 20 extra minutes in prayer and, in turn, clung to what was good? What if I despised my anger with the hatred I have for the abuser and the murderer and chose mercy for the subject of my anger? Would I be able to withstand hating the evil that I know for the good that I'm so uncertain of?

The message here is a challenge to make my love for God sincere by despising the evil in my life and, as if drowning, cling to the rope of what is good.