Did you ever think about how sin works in our lives? First, it finds an opening. It may be ever so small, but it is a window that we have left open. Maybe a bit of ourselves that we simply haven’t had the faith to get rid of because we enjoy it. Even though we are to crucify our own sinful nature, we sometimes take it off that cross too soon and allow it to revive. Satan is eager to provide first aid for that nature.

For example, pride can demand that we see ourselves as better than others, or at least as “good.” We cannot tolerate the thought of someone criticizing us. We are told by the world that we must have a good self-image, and that certainly rejects the idea of anyone failing to value us! So, through that window into our souls, sin reenters, or is revived, and guides us in our response to such lack of respect or insult.

Sadly, it may be that the criticism is valid, and even mild compared to what it could have been. But that is lost on us, except to the extent that we cannot honestly deny its validity. So when you are wrong on the facts, one approach is to attack the source. If we can only undermine and discredit the ones criticizing us, we can at least mitigate the damage they have done to our pride. Enter malicious gossip, lies, dissension, hatred, and strife.

Do you ever get caught up in such things? Sometimes such circumstances remind me of a phenomenon I encountered when I was in Flight School. Everyone is somewhat familiar with vertigo – the feeling that you are moving differently from what in fact is happening. This is common in flying. You feel that you are flying straight when in fact you are climbing, descending, and/or turning. That’s why they teach you to look at instruments when you don’t have a visual reference.

I had a friend in training that several times put the plane into a descending left turn and could not level out. Fortunately, he was still flying with an instructor. He could not correct this spiral. He knew what was happening. He KNEW HOW to correct it. But he could not get his body to perform the correction. He washed out. We found out that this was not unique. It seems to be an incredibly strong kind of vertigo where some natural response overrides rationality. It’s called a “dead man’s spiral.”

It seems to me that we often get caught up in such a dead man’s spiral in our behavior and attitudes. Intellectually we know what is the right thing to do. But psychologically, we do not seem to be able to put what we know into practice. We continue to let ourselves be drawn deeper and deeper into sinful behavior. And if it continues long enough, we crash. The result is not a tombstone, but eternal separation from God!

To get out of the aviation dilemma, the pilot has to get out of the situation altogether. This means that, no matter how much he may love flying, in order to live, he must give it up. For us personally it often means that no matter how much we may love ourselves, in order to live, we need to sacrifice self. This is a practical application of God’s admonition to “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Eph 5:21)

Lynn Swallows