When Sin Starts Rising
1 Thessalonians 4:4 - this is the will of God… that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.
Colossians 3:5 - Put to death therefore what is earthly in you
John Piper explains the sketch of how to fight sin when it rises in us:
Let me give you a personal example: Last Sunday night it was snowy. I just love to get locked in. You can’t go anywhere, so you’re feeling okay. The family’s home, and I was sitting on the couch. Supper was over. Noël [his wife] was working in her study and Talitha, my daughter, was cleaning up in the kitchen a little bit. I was looking forward to doing something with Noël and Talitha — watch something, do something, or whatever.
And Talitha comes in and she says, “Mommy and I are going to watch Super Nanny on the computer.” And all of a sudden I’m at war. This is not the plan. She comes in, they go over, they set up the computer on the stool. They’re on the love seat, I’m on the couch, and they turn it on and start watching.
Now, praise God that some of you would have no problem with that at all. Everything in me said, “This is so wrong. I am the dad here. I should be consulted at least. I mean, I want to watch something too — just not that.”
In the past, before I got serious about this, I think I would have simply sunk. I would have become angry. I would have felt sorry for myself and said, “They left me out.” I would have blamed, and I would have gone upstairs sulking, thinking of something to say that would hurt them and make them feel sorry for me. But I did not do that. I saw it rising. I hated it. I said, “I’m going to kill this.”
So without any kind of cold shoulder, I said something simple and non-offensive and went up to my study and made war for about half an hour. I worked at killing it. I was bringing to mind every kind of promise, every kind of blood-bought, precious inheritance, and every good thing in my life.
“Set your minds on things that are above” (Colossians 3:2), and I was reminded to think on things that are pure, and holy, and just, and commendable, and good (Philippians 4:8). I was making war for thirty minutes until I killed it.
May we get on with the mission to kill the sin in our life - the anger, greed, over-work, idolatry, alcoholism, lust, gluttony, gossip, complaining, and everything else! Life in God’s ways are supremely better. We forget that. May it be spliced into our spiritual DNA.
Taken from the small Piper clip What to Do When Sin Starts Rising