Why is it important to stop wrong thoughts while they are still small?
In Song of Solomon 2:15 (CEV) it says, “We must catch the little foxes that destroy the vineyards.” I have a promise for eternity that is worth fighting for, and those little thoughts are like “little foxes” that can destroy everything.
Recently, an uninvited thought came into my mind. It was not a good and pure thought. (Philippians 4:8.) It was not a thought that I would choose to think. But I was so tired and I felt like I really didn’t have the energy to stop it this time. I was tempted to just let it go. I had to really decide to take up a battle and say “No! I must not allow this sinful thought to live!”
I prayed to God that He would give me power to resist this temptation, and I thought of Bible verses that could tell me what I must do with these thoughts. I was tempted to allow that thought to live, but I did not give in. I overcame in that battle, and Satan lost.
Why do I fight against sin?
But then a thought came up, “Why should I fight against a little thought like that? Why is it so important that I don’t give in? Is it really sin?”
I know that to sin is to do something that I know is against God’s Word and will. The Bible also tells us to capture every thought. (2 Corinthians 10:5.) So I know that sinning starts in my thought life; it’s not just the outward action that is sin. But maybe in the back of my mind I’m still wondering, “What harm would it really do? It’s not that bad. It’s not really going to hurt anyone, no one will ever know.”
But then I think of Jesus; He is the true reason why I have to resist all the sin that comes up in my thought life. He lived here on earth and was tempted in every way just as me, but He did not sin, as it so clearly says in Hebrews 4:15. He did that for me, and now I have to follow in his steps, like it says in 1 Peter 2:21-22, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ‘Who committed no sin …’”
That is the reason why I have to say No to all of these thoughts; nothing can be allowed to live. After everything that Jesus has done for me, this is what I must do to be well pleasing and worthy of Him.
I live for eternity
Although I’m here on earth, I live for eternity. How I spend eternity depends completely on how I’ve lived here on earth. In Matthew 7:21 (NRS) Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” In eternal life there is no room for any sin.
To give in to sin, no matter how small and hidden, will always have bad results. “The payment for sin is death …” is written in Romans 6:23 (GW). It’s not that God wants me to suffer; that He doesn’t want me to enjoy myself. It is really only for my very best, in every way, that I should overcome sin. I’ll experience the results of that here on earth, and for all eternity. The rest of the verse goes on to say, “… but the gift that God freely gives is everlasting life found in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
That is what I truly fight for: my eternal life with Jesus Christ. I want to be blameless, worthy of Him. It is an incredible calling. Nothing on earth is worth losing that calling for. No matter what my feelings are, I will give up my own thoughts and will, and just be obedient to what God speaks to my heart.