Sin is a human behavior.
Maybe it would help us, if we have a general agenda to reduce our own sin, to think about what we know about general human behavior.
When we practice behaviors they become easier. When a child learns to tie his shoe, he gets to the point that he doesn’t have to think about it. In fact, if you told someone, “I want you to really pay attention to how you tie your shoes,” the only observable result would be that they would do the task more slowly than usual. It is a step backwards. The normal way we do things is to start slow and make mistakes. As we develop our skill, we get faster and yet stop making as many mistakes.
This process works even when it seems to malfunction. I wrote about this as the “dark side of ‘practice makes perfect.'”
When parents have a child take piano lessons, they will attempt to cajole or maybe coerce little John or Jennifer to practice regularly. And they might repeat the mantra “practice makes perfect.”
That saying is meant to encourage practice in order to reach proficiency. It’s considered a positive truth.
But it also works the other way. People who have become useless at work and life often get that way because they have practiced at it diligently. Usually, they have made a point to find friends who are involved in the same kind of practice.
If a child doesn’t stick with a musical instrument or a sport or some other skill, it is usually assumed they didn’t practice enough, or the practicing didn’t work. No doubt this is true sometimes. A lot of skilled people are proficient precisely because they responded robustly to practice. Practicing was more rewarding for them than others because they had a natural aptitude for the skill they were practicing.
But, in other cases, the reason that practice seems to not work is because you misunderstood what they were practicing. You can think a child is practicing the piano when he is actually practicing complaining about the piano, procrastinating as long as possible with the piano, and getting by with as little effort as possible with the piano, and hating the piano.
For some, practice doesn’t fail. Instead, they get better at hating the piano, exactly like they practiced.
Sin is a complicated issue. It involves a dispositional inheritance which was determined before you were born. It involves deep mysteries hiding behind self-deception. It involves desires in your heart that ought not be present.
But thinking about such things may actually be used as self-sabotage. When you are concerned with sin in your own life, dwelling on factors beyond your control can be a way of distracting yourself from what you can control. Many of the various factors behind sin are common to all human beings. Yet not all people sin in the same way or to the same degree. So how helpful is it to focus on such matters to change your behavior?
Here’s an idea: Maybe the reason you sin in a particular way is because you have done it so often before that you are now “good” at it. You have special skills.
No, that is not the only factor behind sin. In terms of your relationship with God it might not even be an important factor. But as someone commissioned to sin less and do more good deeds, it may be a weapon that you need to use to fight the war you have been commanded to wage.
You sin because you have sinned before. You have become habituated to it. And God’s call on your life involves obstructing that behavior and acquiring some new skills in the opposite direction.
…train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
1 Timothy 4:7b–10 ESV
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Titus 2:11–14 ESV
What we are clearly commanded to do in relation to sin and righteous living is to train. We may think our efforts are not equal to the task. Maybe they aren’t; but they are not enhanced by disobeying what the Bible says to do to make progress. We can pray for freedom from sin and an improvement in attitudes and actions but we aren’t supposed to merely wait for God to do it for us.
C.S. Lewis wrote, in his book, Prince Caspian, how Aslan sent Peter and Edward to Caspian when he was facing a much superior hostile army.
“Now,” said Peter, as they finished their meal, “Aslan and the girls (that’s Queen Susan and Queen Lucy, Caspian) are somewhere close. We don’t know when he will act. In his time, no doubt, not ours. In the meantime he would like us to do what we can on our own.”
That is wise advice. Start doing what you can. Otherwise, you will only go further in doing what you shouldn’t.
I argue in my book, Solomon Says, that Proverbs is all about this training. If you haven’t read it yet, it is available from Athanasius Press and Amazon.com (Kindle).