I’m Too Distracted to Sin

It was a cloudy weekend in the Fall of 1998 when my father and I laid fresh sod in the front yard with our own hands.  Needless to say, it all felt very manly. The following summer we had a beautiful lawn with well-places trees and bushes.  We were quite proud of our handiwork; but the real amazement was yet to come.

Mom and dad don’t live at that house anymore, but I visited the property a year ago.  It was surreal to see how tall the trees had grown.  One tree had been my height when we put it in the ground, and now it stood well over 20 feet tall.  The lawn was every bit as green as that first summer.  No dandelions, no crab grass.  Just beautiful.

It crossed my mind as I soaked all of this in that the real effectiveness of laying sod lies in one thing: leaving no room for anything else to grow.

I so desperately want my life to be free from weeds.  I don’t want to be selfish, proud, or rude.  I don’t want to have to fight against lust and envy and rage.  If only I could find some spiritual sod…

I can’t help but wonder if greater focus on Jesus and passion for His kingdom could distract me from sin; or leave less room for sin to grow.  I don’t know if this piece of Hebrews insinuates this or not.

“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. “ (Hebrews 12, part of verses 1 & 2)

Running the race, it seems, is best done with our eyes on the prize: Jesus Himself.  Throw out the weeds, and devote your energy to the Grower of green, healthy, grass.

Have you ever found that as God grows you, certain sins have less and less power over you? Have you ever felt like you had been busy with good things and passionate about good things and your money was more centered on good things…. and accordingly, certain sinful uses of your time had been crowded out, or sinful objects of your passion had been crowded out, or sinful uses of your money had been crowded out?

Please share.