JUNE 5, 2012
Just This Once
Read: Psalm 19:7-14
Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins. —Psalm 19:13
As a boy, I used to ride a go-cart that was steered with a rope. On
one occasion, as I propelled my way down the driveway, my parents’
warning came to mind: “Always look up and down the street for cars.
” But I rationalized: It’s okay not to do that just this once. Then I
heard the sound of screeching tires as a car came to an abrupt stop
to avoid hitting me. Thinking I could break my parents’ rule nearly
cost me my life.
The Bible has many examples of those who knew better but who
chose to break God’s rules. From boyhood, David had meditated
on the law of God while he tended his sheep. He knew that the
seventh commandment condemned adultery, yet when he saw
a beautiful woman bathing he used his royal power to take the
wife of Uriah for his own. This sin resulted in terrible consequences
(2 Sam. 11–12).
The psalmist wrote: “Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous
sins” (Ps. 19:13). Have you felt tempted to do something “just this
once” even though you knew it was wrong? Glancing at Internet
pornography, “borrowing” money from an account at work, or
stretching the truth may each seem like an isolated activity but
can lead to terrible consequences. With God’s help, turn from sin
and find His way of escape (1 Cor. 10:13).
Prone to wander—Lord, I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above. —Robinson
Temptations will knock at your door; don’t ask them to stay for dinner!
Source: Our Daily Bread 2012
