“You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” — Isaiah 14:13-14
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Many of us are familiar with the first human sin in the Garden of Eden. But Lucifer was the first sinner. As one of the most beautiful and wise angels made by God, he had no reason to be dissatisfied. But he got greedy and demanded a higher seat in God’s Kingdom. He was the originator of pride. Therefore, the one who demanded to go higher was brought to a much lower position. “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12, NKJV).
Since being thrown out of Heaven, Lucifer is known as Satan, or the devil. He wasn’t satisfied with being bad alone; he wanted to corrupt people also. So he found a way to get Adam and Eve to rebel against God. Even though God gives us freedom to choose, the Lord is perfect in wisdom and we do best to follow His commands. The Lord makes every rule for our benefit and we should trust God. But the forbidden fruit looks and smells just as good to us as it did to Adam and Eve. “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:6).
Adam and Eve forfeited the Garden of Eden when they stepped into sin. They left a perfect place set up by God. Weeds and briers started growing for the first time, Adam and Eve started aging, and all kinds of problems started due to that sin. Though God continues to love people, sin is a serious matter that leads to much damage when lies and hatred grow. Sin gets us into trouble with God, and just like Adam and Eve, it separates us from His holiness.
Thank the Lord that He provides forgiveness and restoration despite our sinful nature. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
As long as we live, we’ll continue to sin — it is our human nature — but it’s important to admit our sins. We have all been proud or told lies or followed our own desires instead of what God has called us to do. We see this in every area of life, and sports is no exception. You don’t have to watch a game, interview or the news very long to witness pride or arrogance, maybe even lying or following earthly temptations. Some have stumbled because of who they surround themselves with, or have caused others to stumble because of their choices. We’ve seen how that worked out for Lucifer and the first humans — they fell and forfeited instead of living within the abundance and safety of God’s way of living.
The Bible is rampant with the sins of people, even those who followed God. But it is also rampant with His forgiveness and His desire to draw them closer to Him. If we deny our wrongdoing, we make things worse. God wants us to bring everything to Him. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). When we come to Him, He makes us right with Him and cleanses our impurities because He is faithful and wants us to live in step with Him.
Don’t let sin become your excuse for living outside of the will and love of God. He is faithful to forgive when we come to Him; we just need to make sure we are coming to Him with it all.
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
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