reason #5 on the lent list...

Reason #5 not to sin.....

Because my sin places a greater burden on my spiritual leaders.

A great example of this would be Achan's sin in the Old Testament. I found a great commentary by RC Sproul on this particular subject.....

Following the fall of Jericho, Joshua sent a force of around 3,000 men to attack the city of Ai, but the Israelite army was soundly defeated and thirty-six fighters were killed (Josh. 7:2-5). This prompted Joshua to cry out to the Lord in great anguish, for how could He have brought the people so far only to see them lose the battle at Ai (vv. 6–9)?


What Joshua did not know but what we understood as soon as we read verse 1 is that there was a specific reason why the people failed to take the city of Ai just as they had conquered Jericho. Instead of leaving all of the devoted things of the city of Jericho for the Lord, Achan (of the kingly tribe of Judah no less) kept some of them for himself (v. 1). Once our Creator explained this to Joshua, everything began to make sense (vv. 10–12). This sin would have to be dealt with as an illustration of God’s holiness and Israel’s responsibility, and Joshua was ordered to tell the people why they had been judged at Ai and what they should do about it (vv. 13–15).

This initial warning to the people should have made Achan come forward on his own and repent of his sin. Unfortunately, this is not what occurred. Instead, he waited for God to identify him before he confessed his sin (vv. 16–21). Lest we think the Lord unjust to destroy Achan and his household even after they “repented” (vv. 22–26), we should note how Achan’s failure to confess on his own and the failure of his family to do the same reveals a lack of true contrition. John Calvin comments that Achan gave no “sure indication of repentance; being, as it were, overcome with terror, he openly divulged what he would willingly have concealed.” God always forgives the penitent, but the absence of true repentance will ultimately bring condemnation.

The thought of being a spiritual liability to others and especially to spiritual leaders over me is terrifying. Because of Achan's selfishness, shortsightedness and SIN, the Israelites were defeated in battle and their leader was left wondering why. Most of us would say we'd never purposely put our leaders in that position, but are we intentionally remembering that any sin we harbor is a burden on them and could irrevocably alter the landscape of the ministry? Do we really think about the position that we put them in? Or......do we rationalize what we're doing as inconsequential? Do we assume no one will ever find out and that we're sinning in a vacuum? Many of us can point to one story after another of a person's very public and very messy "fall from grace" in ministry. Do we shake our heads and wonder "what were they thinking?" or "how did this happen?"

It happened because they stopped being intentional about putting to death "little" and "inconsequential" sins along the way and it can just as easily happen to us. We are always one sin away from burdening our spiritual leaders in a way we'd never see coming.

God save us from rationalizing sin away and assuming it doesn't matter. May we never be a spiritual burden or liability to those whose leadership You've placed us under. Keep our hearts sensitive and our feet quick to run from evil and to repentance.

peace.