By: Anonymous

Read: Exodus 26:1-27:21, Matthew 25:1-30, Psalm 31:1-8, Proverbs 8:1-11

But suppose people knew that the bull had the habit of attacking. And suppose the owner did not keep it fenced in.
Then the owner must give another animal to pay for the dead animal. And the dead animal will belong to the owner.
(Exodus 21:36)

Relate: Have you ever seen an inchworm travel? They’re tiny, and they move minuscule amounts at a time, and yet, they move. Imagine an inchworm, traveling towards a cliff. Its movements are slow and small, but if it does not stop, it will eventually fall.

This passage was a bit obscure to me until it clicked. What is as violent and pain-inducing as “a bull with the habit of attacking”? How does this even relate to us? The word, HABIT in this passage stuck out to me, and I realized (with the help of Mr. Richardson) how the consequences we have for sin are even more violent, even more painful than this.

React: It’s all too familiar to go through worldly habits, and sometimes we have a tendency to tempt temptation. We try to see how far we can go before crossing the line of sin. I can say for sure, that such an attitude will never end well. Even if you’re inching closer and closer, you are still getting closer, and if you don’t stop you will fall off. 

The hardest thing is not to test our limitations at all, but it is so worth it. If you surrender any habit in its entirety, it’s not yours anymore. If we simply do not tempt temptation, we stay far away from that cliff with no chance of falling, we don’t risk anyone being hurt by our actions like the bull. When you’re thinking about something other than temptation, habit, or limitations, you are less distracted by that worldly habit, and you’re eyes can be fixed on God.

Respond:

Dear God,
Forgive me for those times I have fallen because I have edged too close to the line. Help me to not just resist sin but to completely avoid it by going in the opposite direction. Help me to draw closer to You rather than edging ever closer to that cliff.
Amen