Sin provides my greatest satisfaction apart from God. Sin is fun…for a time (Hebrews 11:25). It meets my fleshly desires. It gives me control. I think thoughts I want to think. I savor emotions that meet my needs. I do the things I want to do. Sin is all about me and all about me wanting to be in control.

When something is all about me, it’s hard to give it up. Why should I give up something I regulate and enjoy? When I am in the driver’s seat, God isn’t. The reality is that those who think they are in control are out of control. When I’m behind the wheel, my life is headed toward a dangerous dead-end of consequences.

Today, let’s consider several passages that call for me to surrender my sins. Surrendering my sins to God starts with contrition and repentance. I am sorry for what I have done and want to follow God’s instruction. Surrender means that I must “flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18). I put up guards and stay away from the things that tempt me. Surrender means that I flee from idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14). I give up the things that used to be my gods. Surrender means I break up with my love affair with money and all the status and security that comes with it (1 Timothy 6:10-11). Surrender applies to my relationships and partnerships. I am not to be “unequally yoked with unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14). I must surrender to all the things that control me and instead hand over all the control to God (Ephesians 5:18).

But here is the question—Can I live without my favorite sin? The sin that gives me comfort and confidence. Remember what the writer to the Hebrews says. Sin gives you what you think you need, but the satisfaction lasts only a short time (Hebrews 11:25). When the consequences show up, the fun is over. When we surrender our sin to God, we experience real and lasting peace and contentment. That’s what we’ve been wanting all along.

Father,
There are some sins I don’t want to give up. I want to use them to bring that temporary pleasure. Convict my hard heart. Help me surrender my sins to you and leave them behind. In Jesus’ name. Amen.