James Curtis

I feel as though quitting a specific sin in our lives is a lot like quitting smoking. Let me explain this a bit. I believe this for a few reasons.

1. It’s very addicting:

   We’ve all been there. There’s that one thing in your life that you know is pulling yourself so far from the grasps of God. Why can’t we just stand up and say “I’m done?” The answer is very simple-it’s something you enjoy. Any one who has tried quitting smoking will tell you that they just miss the enjoyment they had from cigarettes. Likewise, with our sins, it’s just so much easier to continue on the road we’re on. We are so comfortable with familiarity that we oftentimes feel reluctant to move forward with our lives. We think about it and realize that moving forward means moving in to unknown territory and that’s not what we want. So we continue our sins, much as why we’d continue smoking, because it’s just so easy to continue.

2. We need support to quit:

   Our friends, our family, our church, our God. We require all of them, at least a little bit, to support us in our support. We need help. We are just humans and we are addicted. We need the help of those around us who have dealt with the same sin or avoided the same sin that we are often going through. Smokers trying to quit will often quit with a group of people. They will all keep each other accountable and make sure to be strong where the other falls weak. Likewise we need support as we quit our specific sins.

3. Of the group above, we need God the most:

   Regardless of how amazing the people around you helping are…they, too, are only humans. A lot of times when people quit smoking, they put all of their faith in their friends and when one slips it’s a downward spiral for the rest. The same thing is true with our faith. We quit with a particular sin that we’re having and get a great group of people to keep us accountable and then one person slips up, then the other and before you know it, we’re making compromises to try to make it seem okay for what we’re doing. Much as with smokers, we need to put our faith in GOD not other HUMANS. God is glorious and has made us so we NEED to believe in Him. The simple fact of the matter is, we’re an imperfect people and if we need to correct on imperfect behavior, who better to focus on than a perfect God?

4. You CAN quit:

   It IS possible to quit. God works miracles. He is perfect and He will help you. The catch? You have to truly want it. God want’s all of your heart. If you try to quit something and say “I think I’ll just quit soon,” that will not work. I’ve heard the phrase “I’ll quit after this pack” so many times in my life, it’s unbelievable. I’ve always seen that as an incredible act of counter-activity. The problem with this is people are essentially saying “I’ll quit this addictive behavior after I have more of the addictive ingredients.” How often do we do the same thing? “This is my last time!” We get so passionate about it. We say “I’m for real this time! I’m on FIRE for the Lord and after this, I’m done.” The power of sin is equally destructive as the power of nicotine and as we consume more and more of the sin, we get more and more addicted.

Luckily for us there is an escape. God has given us the power of prayer. We can always come to Him. We can always rely on Him. Most importantly, He WANTS us to come to Him and rely on Him. He want’s us to acknowledge that He is, indeed, our God. The biggest problem with our personal sins are that when we are doing them, we are essentially locking God out of our lives. We are saying to Him “I know what you want, and I know this isn’t it but, God, leave me alone…I’m just having fun here.” We all sin, and I’m not saying you will ever get rid of ALL of your sin, but it’s our jobs as Christians to never let anything get in the way of our relationship with God. He wants all of our lives and by continuing with those sins that pull us so far away from Him, we are taking away a piece of our life. It’s difficult. It’s addicting. It’s possible to quit it, but only with His help.