Am I really a “victim of circumstances?” Is it helpful to blame others for what might be wrong in my life? Is it helpful to excuse my failures and faults by viewing them as “inherited traits”? Am I a slave to wrong behavior?
No.
I look to the Law for my warning. The Law of God’s Word explains my sinful condition. It warns me away from wrong choices and behavior. Then, when I feel overwhelmed and discouraged by my wrong choices, I look to the Gospel. I see that change is possible in Christ. I discover that the Holy Spirit enables me to modify my own character, tendencies and habits so that I can pass on to my children and grandchildren something better. I take hope in the fact that doing good things — the things that please God — is transmissible.
It is easy to excuse my poor behavior by claiming that I’ve inherited a “bad” trait. But, this is to say: I am a slave. I have no opportunity to acquire freedom. This is just who I am.
This is what Satan and the world would have me believe. But, I don’t buy it.
It is true that under the Law of God I am chained to hopelessness because of my rebellious and sinful condition. But, under the Gospel, my chains are broken. I am set free in Jesus Christ to live differently. To resist evil and do good. To learn from mistakes and not repeat them. To perhaps fail again but then, in Christ, start new every morning.
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