You say, “I am allowed to do anything” – but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12 NLT
Many Christians ask a bottom-line question that rules most of their behavior. “Is it a sin?” If they cannot be shown something listed in the Bible as breaking God’s law, they decide this is an okay choice, and they can feel good about moving ahead. They live their entire lives in the “Not Sin” community, and experience life the same way as their neighbor. Plenty of temporary satisfaction, ease, and entertainment, but high levels of stress, anxiety, lack of satisfaction and contentment. They have a vague awareness that something is wrong, but they push it aside and do as everyone else does, feeling at least validated that they are keeping up with their neighbors on a level or two.
Pure misery! They’re asking the wrong question. As a pastor/counselor, I am often asked the “sin” question. One area that comes up most often is money. Money is the great leveler. No matter how much money you make, someone always makes more, and there are amazing things you could do if you had just a little bit more too. Our culture has made credit so easy that you can get just a little more in a matter of minutes. So, I frequently talk with couples who are arguing about money, about credit, and one will ask, “Is it a sin to have debt? Is it a sin to have credit-card debt?”
I wish I had a “Jeopardy Show” buzzer to push. Since I don’t, I just have to always simply say, “That’s the wrong question. God wants more for you than walking a ‘sin/not sin’ tightrope. He wants you to live in the freedom of wisdom. The question is, ‘Is it wise?’” So, now let me ask you the right question. Is it wise? Will it lead to less stress and greater freedom? Will it enhance your life in the long term or only momentarily? Almost always, instantly the air goes out of the room. The answers are so clear, there’s nothing more to talk about except how to make better choices for lasting freedom.
The main areas where we lose our peace and freedom because of poor choices are money, time, order in our environment and mind, and relationships/boundaries. We will never live the free life that makes us truly healthy and happy until our metric for choice is higher quality than “is it a sin”? We want to make proactive, positive choices of wisdom that create a non-anxious life, blessing us and others with peace.
This begins with taking a hard and honest look at the chaos of your life, the areas where you have momentary excitement and then ongoing anxiety and slavery. Determine to get wise and shut off the anxiety alarms.
- Is it wise? Make this your new guideline. If it’s truly wise, it won’t be sin. No worries.