"I Didn't Do It!"

James 4: 17, Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. NKJV

Sometimes bad things do happen to good people. Occasionally, it's a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Allow me to share an example from my own childhood: Our parents raised seven children, and obviously, there were times when one of us would get out of hand. Now, I have to admit our family was "old school."Dad and mom believed that we should understand that wrong actions can cause pain in our lives, so they corrected us whenever we misbehaved. Although there were times that we might have gotten out of hand, we were never out of hand's reach.

One of the best places for our parents to correct us was in the car while driving down the road. You can probably imagine the limited space we had being a large family bunched up in one car. So whenever my sisters decided they just had to get their way, and mom heard the ruckus, we all knew what was about to come our way. You guessed it. It was mom's hand, and she didn't even have to know who the culprit was or which one she made contact with; justice was going to be served.

Inevitably, I would usually get caught in the crossfire of mom's disciplinary actions and begin to plead foul. I would cry out, "I didn't do anything!" Did you notice I was the innocent one in the family? It's my story girls. Now, let's get back to the scene of the offense. Mom would defend her actions by telling us, "Well you were doing something." Now, let's turn the light on you. Did you ever get corrected when you seemingly did nothing wrong? Well, perhaps you need a new understanding concerning the ways of God that can help you: The sin of omission has consequences that are as real as the sin of commission.

The sin of omission in Adam's life gave way for Satan to enter the Garden of Eden after God had told him to protect it. Adam didn't try to prevent Satan from speaking to Eve about God, nor did he try to stop her from eating the forbidden fruit. Do you see how the sin of omission is just as destructive as any other sin? Our disobedience to God's will can and will open the door for Satan to enter into our lives and destroy. Our heavenly Father loves us; therefore, He will chastise us when we allow sin into our lives...even the sin of omission.

Has the Lord instructed or impressed on you to do something that to date you haven't done? If so, then repent for being passive and take a step of faith to obey God.  Your action will keep the door shut so that Satan doesn't get a foothold in your life, and your obedience will keep you out of the corrective reach of God's hand.

I Might Have Been the Instigator on Occasion,
Pastor Asa Dockery