Submitting to God Daily

I watch a lot of true crime.

Dateline, 48-Hours, 20/20, and everything else in between. I love watching them for the intrigue and whole “whodunit” atmosphere. Something about “thinking” television makes me believe my brain is not completely turning to mush as I watch it.

One can hope, anyway.

I also grew up watching and reading mysteries, and I still watch and read mysteries today. And I’ll never pass up a Masterpiece Mystery. Ever.

But as I marvel at the psychotic individuals who commit the crime, often it isn’t a psychopath or even a narcissistic individual (although these are traits very common to the criminal) who commits the crime. Often, it’s the unassuming neighbor or the sweet wife who flips a switch and does something horrendous.

So, how did they go from good to bad? How could someone so seemingly innocent turn out to be so guilty? What caused the shift?

It seems to boil down to this: A moment of greed, alongside a boatload of dissatisfaction in the person’s life, with the pride to think they could get away with it, propels the crime to fruition.

After watching hundreds, if not thousands, of true crime shows over the decades, it’s true when they say, “It can happen to anyone.” Everyone has their breaking point or arrives at a perfectly assembled temptation to make them cross the line.

I may only be an armchair detective, but here’s the truth: anyone can be tempted, tried, seduced, and convinced to do the very thing they never intended to do. The desire for more, of whatever we want, can make anyone do the unthinkable.

I wouldn’t call myself the murdering type. And I don’t think most of us are either. But I am capable of gossip, slander, envy, and jealousy. Which is no better or worse than a murderer. I can be a hypocrite, full of pride or lust, and every other despicable thing out there.

Satan has the cunning ability to make any situation the most suitable temptation for you. He knows how to cater to your “needs” and create a situation that appeals so keenly to your desires that it will take only the power of the Holy Spirit’s strength to say no to whatever your weakness is.

To resist this behavior, I have to bring myself to submission to God every morning. It’s the only way I can keep sin at bay, the devil quivering in anger at my resistance, and the ability to live a life worthy of Him.

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, NIV).

Finch Food for Thought: Sin is sin is sin. It’s all equally sin under God’s eyes. It’s also all equally forgivable.