Five Habits of a Cleaned-Up Sinner – Habit #3: Own Up!

“I was sinful at birth” Psalm 51:5

We’re on the third day of our quest for God’s restoring and refinishing touch in our lives. In Psalm 51, David has begun to deal with his sin by taking two important steps: He is driven to confess (step one) because he has looked up (step two) to see his sin in the light of God’s perspective. He then leads us to step three, which is to own up to the damaging and damning reality of our sinful nature.

Coming clean before God requires that we stop kidding ourselves. Most of us think that by and large we are pretty cool and that in spite of our coolness we mess up now and then. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are not cool at the core and that is our problem. We are sinners. It’s not what we have done that is the problem. It’s who we are! And it’s not that we get this way—we are born this way. As David admits, “I was sinful at birth.” Any parent of a 2-year-old would say a hearty “amen” to that! Our sinful nature is part of our DNA.

While I would love to think I am an exception, too many stories from my early childhood prove otherwise. I’ll never forget the time I came home from elementary school starving. Opening the cupboard, I hit the jackpot! There before me was a bag of Baker’s Fresh shredded coconut. I love coconut. So, throwing restraint to the wind, I happily polished off the whole bag. When my mother went into the kitchen a couple hours later—to bake, you guessed it, a coconut cake—I heard, “Who ate the coconut? Little Joe, come in here!” I knew I was in trouble. My escape plan was simple. A quick lie and my troubles would be over. No one had to teach me to do that. It was lurking there ready to rescue me from the day I was born.

So I replied, “I didn’t eat it, Mom!”

Mom continued her inquiry with my two sisters, but of course they denied it, so we all heard the inevitable threat: “Wait ’til your dad comes home!”

My dad’s investigation began like Mom’s—simply asking if I ate the coconut. I lied again!

In desperation, my dad grabbed the Bible and read Revelation 21:8 to us: “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”What a hammer blow to my fallen heart. Wide-eyed, I confessed immediately, “I did it! I did it!”

I hate to admit it, but that was not the last time that lying raised its ugly head in my life. How important it is to recognize the ongoing reality of our sinful selves so that we remain aware that we are our own worst enemy. We desperately need the presence of God and the power of His Word to keep us safe and spiritually sane.

Knowing ourselves for what we really are will convince us that every day we need to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

YOUR JOURNEY…

• Perhaps you have a “coconut” story—an incident from your childhood when your sin was found out. Do you see the same tendencies in your life today? 
• Do you tend to blame others or circumstances for your sins? How does that disarm you from seeing the real source of your sin and coming to grips with your problem?
• Where can you let the presence and power of God’s Word deal with some reoccurring patterns of sin in your life? What will you do to “acknowledge Him” and let Him “make your paths straight”?
• See you back here tomorrow for part four of “Five Habits of a Cleaned-Up Sinner”!