He attended camp every summer. He had not missed a year of kids camp and had perfect attendance at youth camps.
As predictable as his camp registration was his response at the altar. By the first or second evening Stephen (name has been changed) would have a significant emotional experience. He would run forward, fall on the altar, and begin to weep and repent. He always repented of the same sin.
One night following his recommitment experience we shareda Dr. Pepper and dialogued about forgivness, grace, and accountability. I challenged him to do something he had never been asked to do before: "Stephen, you need to learn to think before you sin."
He looked at me slightly confused, but eagerly asked, "What do you mean?"
I explained to him that sinning is something we all know about. "All have sinned..." (Romans 3:23). The temptation to sin is strong and it hits us daily, yet it's God's desire that we do not sin. I encouraged him to develop the habit of thinking before he sinned. He chuckled and said, "I have been told to think before I speak, but never to think before I sin."
It's a good practice to think before we sin because:
The damage sins causes is oftentimes hard to repair. Perhaps the reason we call grace amazing is because God will forgive us anytime, anyplace, and for anything. But no matter how sincere our repentance is to the Lord, sometimes the damage that sin causes is tough to repair.
Just ask the 15-year-old girl who is sincerely sorry for compromising her moral standards, but is faced with the truth of a positive pregnancy test. Certainly God can forgive the sin of promiscuity, but the consequences are hers to live with.
Sin will take you father than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and hurt you more than you ever thought possible. Just stop and think.
The evidence of sin is impossible to hide. This fascinating principle is found in God's Word. "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23).
A certain woman, preparing to entertain guests, went to a small grocery store to buy food. She topped at the mean counter and asked the attendant for a large chicken. He reached into the cold storage compartment, grabbed the last chicken he had, and placed it on the scale. "This one weighs 4 pounds, ma'am," he said.
"I'm not sure that will be enough," the woman replied. "Don't you have a bigger one?"
The attendant put the chicken back into the compartment, pretended to search through the melting ice for another one, and then brought out the same bird, discretly applying some finger pressure to the scale. "Ah," he said with a small; "this one weighs 6 pounds."
"I'm just not sure," the woman frowned. "I'll tell you what--wrap them both up for me."
God's love for us is so awesome that He doesn't want us to live with the guilt, shame, hurt, or hopelessness that sin produces; therefore, He is willing to expose our sin in hope that we wil confess it and reestablish a relationship with Him. That's love.
It is true: if we confess our sins, He will forgive. However, if He uncovers our sin, it hurts. God loves us too much to let us live with hidden sin. "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known" (Luke 12:2, NIV).
The respect we lose is difficul to regain. A Christlike reputation is one of the most effective witnessing tools we have. It takes a lifetime to develop, but it can be lost by simply not thinking. If Satan can tarnish your reputation and erase the respect that others have for you, then he is successfully accomplishing his agenda.
Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13). If salt loses its flavor or distinction, what good is it? Reputations are critical in representing and advancing the kingdom of God.
All of us have sinned. All are tempted to sin. But not all of us have to sin. "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provoke a way out so that you can stand up under it" (I Corinthians 10:13, NIV).
If there is one thing better than being forgiven, it's not having to be forgiven at all. Think before you sin.
*Doug Clay is secretary of the Youth Department at the Assemblies of God Headquarters.
Doug Clay, Think Before You Sin, Pentecostal Evangel, April 28, 1996, Springfield, MO, p. 30.