The Dangers of Dabbling

None of us willingly walk into sin; we typically take one small step at a time.  During that walk though we have the choice to stop or move ahead.  I can think of a couple of illustrations to demonstrate this mindset.  The first one deals with lightening.  How many times have we been at an outdoor sporting event and there is thunder and the threat of lightening?  Everyone will continue to watch and play the game, not wanting it to end.  You practically have to drag the coaches and the players off the field.  Everyone believes they won't be the one to get struck.  Some of us view sin this way.  We think if we just stand next to sin or perhaps just dabble in it a little, we won't get hit.  Perhaps the most practical illustration I can provide is one I have unfortunately witnessed first hand.  This gamble involves alcohol.  Alcohol doesn't have to be bad, however for some it strikes and leaves a nasty scar.  I have seen those who join in the festivities of drinking, only to become dependant on it and start on a road of destruction.  Taking these chances can be compared to Russian Roulette.  You might be able to participate in the social drinking, but in years to come you might be the one who takes the bullet.  For the alcoholic, this bullet causes "unexplainable fears, possible psychosis, long periods of drunkenness, continuously loses control, becomes obsessed with drinking, displays irrational resentment and anger toward others, hallucinations, persistent guilt, runs out of excuses for his drinking, reduced morals, distorted thinking, no longer values personal relationships and loses his tolerance for alcohol." (Final Stages of Alcoholism | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5485009_final-stages-alcoholism.html#ixzz2CIS02Wfr)

If you choose to dabble in sin, be prepared to face the consequences to follow.  The definition of sin is to disobey God.  Why do we do sin?  There are several things that lead us down this walk.  The first is Satan.  "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10.  The second is living in a world that seduces us into thinking that wrong choices are what will make us complete (spending, partying, & sex outside of marriage).  Why is it that the world is our enemy? The world is our enemy because it has a wrong set of values. 1 John 2:15-17  “Love not the world, neither the things in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lusts thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”  Thirdly, we have a sin nature - a desire to satisfy our flesh.  The flesh is an enemy—with its ambitions, its passions, its human desires, its dreams. The flesh is subject to temptation from without and so prone to weaknesses from within. Our battle is not merely to control the urges of fleshly gratification. It is more than that. It is a battle of human nature against spiritual nature. It is the proper, wholesome aims and ambitions—to which the world has a legitimate right—versus the aims and the desires and the hopes and the prospects of the child of God. It is the battle of self-will against the doing of God’s will.  Galatians 6:7-8 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

When we consider dabbling of sin, what does it look like?  To dabble means to become involved superficially: to have a casual or superficial interest in something.  As mentioned above, none of us ever start out and say today I'm going to sin.  What typically happens is we keep our favorite "little" sins close to us in case we want to dabble in them ever so often.  But if Satan can get us just to dabble a little in sin, it starts a downward spiral on the path of deception.  Satan knows the power of our thoughts and that is where he begins.  James 1: 14-15  "but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."  Scripture tells us to FLEE from sin.  Resist the devil.  These are choices we must make on a daily basis.  1 Thessalonians 5:22  "reject every kind of evil."  Don't play with sin and think there won't be consequences of fulfilling fleshly desires (anything that isn't God-honoring).  If we don't recognize the sin we are dabbling in and are broken because of it, then the dabbling gets replaced with a life made up of sin.  These sins will take control of your life and will be exposed for all to see.  Numbers 32:23 "you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out"  1 Corinthians 4:5 Paul tells us "He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart."  Hebrews 4:13  "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."  Brokenness is the place that brings true repentance if you have dabbled in sin.  Repentance leads to forgiveness and ends in a sweet fellowship with Christ.
1 John 1:6-7  "If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."