By: Steve Wilmot
An old man took his grandson for a walk through the woods behind his house. Suddenly the old man stopped and pointed to four plants.
The first was just beginning to peek above the ground, the second had rooted itself well into the earth, the third was a small shrub, and the fourth was a full-sized tree.
The grandfather said to his young companion, “Let’s see if you can pull up the first plant.” The boy did so eagerly, using only his fingers.
“Now see if you can pull up the second.” The grandson did but found it a bit more difficult than the first. “Can you pull the shrub out of the ground?” The boy had to use all his strength, but he uprooted it.
“Very good,” the grandfather said. “Try to pull up the fourth.” The boy put his arms around the trunk of the tall tree but couldn’t even shake its leaves.
Seizing this teachable moment, the grandfather took his grandson by the shoulders and said, “This is what happens with our bad habits. When they are young, we can remove them easily, but when they are old, it’s hard to uproot them even when we try hard.”
That’s a tragic truth we adults know only too well. There are unhealthy habits we find nearly impossible to break free of because we’ve done them for so long. And now we suffer consequences we wish we didn’t.
In the days of Jeremiah, the prophet of God, the nation of Babylon invaded, destroyed, and took the Israelites into captivity for 70 years.
Forty years before the Babylonians marched into Israel, Jeremiah tried to persuade God’s people to return to him. And over those four decades they refused. They were addicted to false gods they had no interest in breaking ties with.
How did they get into a morbid situation like that? The same way we have. Jeremiah’s heart was broken to see Israel bear the consequences of their sin. He wrote a companion book in the Bible called Lamentations to express his inner torment and distress over their agony.
In the first chapter, God gave him three reasons Israel walked blindly into temptation thinking there was no harm or far-reaching effects… until there are, and then they wanted a way out.
If we would pause the next time we’re tempted to consider these three truths Israel rejected with tragic consequences, we would save ourselves much pain and regret.
1. “Among all her lovers there is none to comfort her” (Lamentations 1.2).
The things we do to try to find happiness, relief from stress, and an escape from pain only lead us to unhappiness, more stress, more pain, guilt, shame, regret, and slavery. They don’t comfort us when we experience these consequences. They don’t help. They don’t care.
They are counterfeit lovers that draw us away from the One, True Lover who has told us how to experience an abundant life he wants us to enjoy.
Even when we choose the path that brings agony and misery, God will comfort us. If we run into his arms, we’ll discover they are always open even when we reject him and his ways.
2. “In the days of her affliction and wandering, Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old” (Lamentations 1.7)
When tempted to sin with other lovers, we fail to remember the treasures we have in God or to consider the cost of sin. What we’ll lose. Sin looks so attractive and promises to satisfy our deepest longings and needs. It holds up shiny things to lure us to them.
Only after the roof crashes in do we remember. If only we would pause to remember what we are forfeiting before we follow temptation into sin, we would show our lovers to the door and tell them not to come back.
The contrast between what God offers and what sin offers would be so stark we’d joyously turn our backs on our other lovers and run to God every time.
3. “She did not consider her future” (Lamentations 1.9). We run blindly into sin without pausing to consider the future it will set in motion.
Isn’t it true that if you could have looked into a crystal ball and seen where your sin habit has lead you when you gave in to temptation the first time, you would have said no to it?
All the years of guilt and shame — gone. Hiding behind masks — not needed. Frustration at your inability to overcome your sinful habit for good — unnecessary. Feelings of hopelessness that eventually crept in — vanished.
Everyone has blown it before, but we can choose to begin to take a break to consider these three truths next time. We don’t have to suffer the same plight Israel did.
All that’s required is pursuing God and kicking all other lovers to the curb. He is enough. He is all you need.
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.