Written By: Didi Zayas
When I really committed my life to Christ at 15, a few lingering sins followed me as I attempted to grow in my faith: listening to music that obviously didn’t glorify God, running my mouth about anything and everything, disrespecting my parents, and most of all, a general interest in doing whatever it took to be popular.
What I didn’t realize was that all those things were distractions with deadly results. Those lingering sins beckoned me to follow after the world instead of my relationship with Jesus.
Yet, I liked them. I liked watching “Dawson’s Creek,” even though most of the story lines were centered on the main characters jumping into bed with their best friends. (Believe me, it was the “Gossip Girl” of my day.) I liked listening to Y100, even though most of the music didn’t just contain bad lyrics; some of it was in direct opposition to my faith. And my favorite pet sin was gossip. I enjoyed gossiping about other people, especially when it made me feel better about myself. It didn’t matter to me if my assumptions about people were nowhere near the truth. I looked – and sounded – just like someone who didn’t believe in Jesus.
I actually enjoyed doing things I knew God disapproved of because I had an impure heart. In fact, my heart still isn’t perfect, but God has begun the process of fixing it up. In Matthew 12:34-35, Jesus said, “… For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” I had allowed those sins in my life for three reasons. First of all, I had an impure heart. Secondly, I hadn’t practiced “storing up” good things from God’s Word in my heart. And, lastly, I was focused on myself and temporary pleasures instead of eternal life.
The purification process
But, the good news is that God didn’t leave me where I was at. He had a plan for me, just like He has a plan for you. He tells us in His Word how to keep our hearts pure. Psalm 119:9-11 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” We see from these verses that the good things we’re supposed to store up in our hearts are actually commands from His Word! It even says that we’re supposed to “hide” Bible verses in our hearts, so that they’ll be there to show us the right way when we’re tempted by lingering sins.
The Bible says that we cannot love God if we don’t obey Him. And how can we obey God if we don’t know His commands? It’s all about His Word. Even though His commands sometimes aren’t convenient or popular, believe me, they are a blessing. His Word kept me from following so many paths that seemed great for the moment, but would’ve left me lost and confused in the long run. It got easier and easier to let go of my favorite sins as I learned to seek God and to love His will more than my own. I’m not perfect, but He is in the process of perfecting me. (But, the process won’t be over until I meet Him in heaven.)
Tunnel vision
Another reason I didn’t want to let go of my pet sins was that I had tunnel vision. I was focused on me, myself and I, and the here and now. Instead of trying to purify my heart so I could make an impact on people’s lives for eternity, I was focused on being popular, masterfully winning every argument with my parents, and watching whatever movies piqued my interest. Even though I believed in it myself, I wasn’t focused on God’s big picture plan for freely giving salvation to everyone through Jesus’ death the cross and His resurrection three days later.
If I had cared about the fact that God’s plan was bigger than me, I would have wanted to purify my heart so that others could see Him in me.
Proverbs 11:22 says, “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.” Did you get that one? A woman who has an impure heart – and therefore an impure lifestyle – is like a hefty pig with an expensive nose ring. In other words, when I let my pet sins take over my life, I was about as useless in representing Christ as a nose ring is to a pig on the day the butcher comes calling.
Refocusing on Him
The truth is that Jesus is coming back soon, to give the people who believe in Him here on earth an eternal life in heaven. It’s written about throughout the Old and New Testaments. What everyone else is left with isn’t so pretty: It’s judgment. If we really believed this to be true, we would be getting rid of every pet sin that hinders our relationship with Jesus Christ so we could be ready for Him on that day, and so we could lead others to get their hearts ready for His return as well. When I was 15, I cared more about the homecoming dance and getting invited to the latest party than I did about choosing not to gossip about someone, so that I could share the Gospel with her instead. Yet, God worked in my heart, just like He can work in yours.
When we give our lives to Him so He can change and transform our hearts – and therefore our lives – He does a wonderful, wonderful work in us.
I have a challenge for you and for me, because my fixer-upper heart that Jesus gave His life for still needs a lot of work. I challenge us to pray that God will look at our lives today and point out any area that might be hindering our relationship with Him. Then I challenge us to pick up the Bible and look for verses to store up in our hearts so God can begin to clean it out. And, lastly, I challenge us to tell someone else about what Jesus is cleaning out of our hearts so that He can start working on his or her heart as well. That way, the sometimes-uncomfortable-but-always-beneficial process of purification can inspire others to deepen their relationship with Jesus too.
If you haven’t placed your faith in Jesus yet, I also challenge you to pick up the Bible and read through Matthew or Romans. You are in for an adventure that is sure to touch your heart and make it squeaky clean.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:2.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
