Fasten

“I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me.”  Psalm 101:3

We have a big field behind our home.  It used to be full of underbrush and weeds.  Whenever we walked in that field, our clothes would be covered with tiny sticky seeds, designed to cling to anything they touched and be transported by attachment.  If you have ever tried to pull those kinds of seeds out of your socks, you know how difficult it is.  They don’t want to let go. 

Sins are like sticky seeds.  Have you ever tried to get rid of bad behavior and found that it just seems to cling to you?  It is so sticky that you just can’t get free.  It has a grip that holds.

Davaq is the Hebrew word for cling.  It is the same word that is used in Genesis 2 for the thought of marriage – and man will cling to his wife.  There is no letting go.  Stuck together.  But here David reminds us that we have the responsibility to not let sin cling to us.  Sin is designed with the tiny barbs and sticky surfaces needed to attach to anything it touches.  So avoid walking in the fields where sin flourishes.  You can’t take a stroll there without some of it clinging to you.

David is just the right man to give us this reminder.  He put quite a few worthless things before his eyes.  Each one attached itself to his soul.  It took radical personal soul surgery to remove those attachments.  He knows what he is talking about.  We should listen to a man with this experience.  But if you are like me, you will find yourself being convinced that it is OK to take just a few steps along the edge of the field.  Just as long as you don’t go plowing straight through the underbrush.  After all, as long as you and I don’t actually touch the sticky sinful seeds, they won’t get on us.  If you find yourself thinking that way, come to visit me.  We will stand next to the field while the wind blows.  And you will soon discover that even though you never took a step forward, you are covered with sticky seeds.  Proximity is enough. 

Sin is the stickiest stuff around.  It’s far more efficient than superglue.  You will need a heavenly cleaner to get rid of this mess.  Fortunately, God’s cleaning service is made for the job.

Today:  “Father, help me avoid proximity to sticky sins.  Give me red lights when I need them.”