NO SMALL SIN

NO SMALL SIN
James 1:9-18
"Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin ..." (v. 15)

THE THEME OF TRIALS CONTINUES into this passage. The experience of trials is a great equaliser. The brother who is poor takes pride that he is honoured to suffer for Christ (see Acts 5.41). The one who is rich feels humbled when trials show him how vulnerable he and his riches are to risk and destruction. Like the wild flower of the field under the fierce Palestinian sun, material wealth withers as soon as it appears.

Trials are to be welcomed, but temptations are to be resisted. Though the words used for "trial" in vv. 2,12 and "tempted" v. 13 come from the same root word, they refer to different things or different dimensions of the same thing. God tries us to make us better, but the Devil tempts us to make us worse. James makes it clear that, in that sense, God does not tempt us (v.13). We should not shift the blame to God for our temptation and fall.

The source of temptation lies essentially within us. We allow ourselves to be "dragged away and enticed" (v.14), like an animal or fish deceived by a bait. Only in our case, we bite our own bait! James turns to another analogy, that of birth (v,15). One commentator, Donald W. Burdick, calls it the "genealogy of evil desire" traced back to three generations. There is firstly the temptation, then the desire, and finally the birth of sin.

We see that sin "grows up" through a process. One day, a family found that water had stopped flowing from all the taps in the house. A plumber was called in, and after thorough investigation, found a huge toad stuck inside one of the pipes. "How did it get there?" was everyone's question. The answer: when it was a tadpole. That is often how sin enters our life and grows to choke our circulation and stifle us to death. Let us beware that we do not allow small tadpoles (temptations) to grow into fat toads (sins).

God does not tempt us to sin. On the contrary, He gives us good and perfect gifts (v.17). Again, as in vv. 3-5, the severity of our testing is matched by the generosity of our God. His gifts are not prompted by fickle, impulsive spurts of emotions, like "shifting shadows" (v.17) that change long and short through the day. No, God's gifts are given out of a steady, unfailing, unchanging love. In our trials and temptations, we can count on God's gracious provisions to see us through.

Do I treat certain sins as small?