The Lodestar

God did not create sin because sin is not a tangible object that can be made. But sin is the wilful disobedience of God; it happens when people turn their back on God and live in their own ways, as Adam and Eve chose to do.

As Adam and Eve sinned, sin became part of human existence. The inclination to disobey God's will is part of our nature. Adam and Eve, now stripped of their privileges and driven out of God's presence, handed this inclination to sin to their descendants.

Adam's children had choices; they were not robots controlled remotely. Abel chose to honour God, while Cain could not. Cain also turned against God's will, being angry and disgruntled.

God warned Cain that he was vulnerable to sin: "Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you," waiting to fall on him, unaware. Like a tree that would fall in the direction it leans, Cain was more vulnerable to sin if he did not "rule over it."

His parents invented sin, and Cain had to live with the reality of sin in the world that tries to overcome the descendants of Adam and Eve. However, he did not have to succumb to sin if he determined not to let it catch him.

This battle with sin is ongoing; even those who have received pardon for their sins, as long as they are in the world, have to resist sin. The believers are in the battleground, destined to win if they fight. The Christian life is an ongoing fight against sin. For Paul his own life was a battle: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim 4:7). He encouraged his younger colleague to "fight the good fight of the faith" (1 Tim 6:12). The writer of the Book of Hebrews encouraged the readers to keep fighting: "In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood" (Heb 12:4).

Sin is waiting to crouch upon us as sinful and ungodly thoughts invade our minds. The battle begins as we resist the Devil, as Jesus did when tempted in the wilderness. Resisting the Devil is the best way to get rid of him. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).

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