Friendly

Ezra 9:10-15

What is sin like? I've heard some preach sin fungus or mold that grows in the dark parts of our life, rotting it from the inside out. I've heard some liken sin to a poison that we willingly consume thinking it won't hurt us but it always does. While I think both of these are wonderful analogies, I like the idea of a seed. Yes, the seed is still poison. Yes, the seed will still grow and bring rot into our lives. But, the deceptive part is that the seed itself doesn't look harmful at all. It's just a seed. But, once that seed takes root, the poison and rot set in. Ezra addresses this idea when he reminds the people of God not to seek a "treaty of friendship" with the surrounding pagan people. There is simply no way to be "friends" with sin and remain set apart for God. Sadly, when you are friends with sin, it will always bring unintended consequences into our lives. Notice Ezra says the sin of the Canaanites had polluted the land. That is a such a powerful description of what sin does. Sin poisons everything around us. Ezra is trying to get the people to see the entire reason they were sent into captivity was because of their sin in the first place! I think Ezra is genuinely concerned about a second captivity if the people don't turn their hearts back to God. We need to take a page from Ezra's playbook. We cannot be friendly with sin and not expect it to poison our life. Once the seeds are planted, the fruit is going to grow. The only want to remain separate for God's purpose is to break the friendship with sin. 

Prayer:
Christ, my King, I want to submit to You and only You. Please help me to identify areas of my life where I am being friendly with sin and eradicate that relationship. Please help me to "un-friend" all the sinful things in my life. Thank You Jesus. Amen. 

Reflection: 
Where are you being "friends" with sin and need to cut off that relationship?