Side effects

Every time I watch a commercial on television that is referring to some sort of medicine it always seem to list the side effects at the very bottom in small print or they say them really, really fast at the end of the two minute blurb.

I have a problem with side effects because I am the kind of person that usually gets them. The whole list of; nausea, headaches, congestion, and loss of short term memory seem to get me every time.

I notice the same thing about our modern day cures for sin. We(as a culture and a church at times) label sin sometimes as temporary virus. We them prescribe this virus with a multitude of things: go to the doctor, start working our, go to a therapist, read your Bible every day, go do this, go do that, go, go, go....

These suggestions are not bad things at all, in fact, they can be a tremendous help to our health, spiritually, emotionally, and physically, but if we are depending on these things to pull us through our sin we are mistaken.

And suddenly we find ourselves with a whole mess of sinful side effects. The sin seems to not only be our first disease but also tends to be our side effects as well. These side effects seep into our relationships, our friendships, or mentality towards work, our emotional balance, and our own view of who we are and who created us. The spiritual immune system is being completely ripped apart because we are chasing after the right medication, or the right therapy for our sinful desires.

We tend to forget to simply repent.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 1 John 1:9

When we go to our great physician and repent he forgives us and we become healthy again. We may not feel healthy but God is building our immune system up and we, if we continue to walk with Him and repent when we sin, will become strong and healthy.

We will be able to eat solid food and run with Him. The side effects of our sin will not seep into our lives any longer.