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John 8:33-34

They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”

Sin has become ho-hum. What used to make us blush; now makes us laugh. What used to be whispered is now shouted. Some things used to embarrass us; now, we sit unfazed with our family while the commercials show tawdry scenes of upcoming sitcoms. We live neck-deep in materialism. We have become desensitized to sin. Read these telling words of theologian Cornelius Plantinga:

Self-deception about our sin is a narcotic, a tranquilizing and disorienting suppression of our spiritual central nervous system. What’s devastating about it is that when we lack an ear for wrong notes in our lives, we cannot play the right ones or even recognize them in the performance of others. Eventually we make ourselves religiously so unmusical that we miss both the exposition and recapitulation of the main themes God plays in the human life. The music of creation and the still greater music of grace whistle right through our skulls, causing no catch of breath and leaving no residue. Moral beauty begins to bore us. The idea that the human race needs a Savior sounds quaint.

Let’s not become so accustomed to sin in our lives and the sin around us that we allow the music of grace to whistle through our skulls without taking our breath away.

Heavenly Father, wake us up! Please don’t let us become slaves to sin without even knowing it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today’s Journey Message:

Living My Influence