In Philippians 3:10-14 (NIV) the Apostle Paul writes, 10 “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
The thought occurred to me today that every sin has this in common: it wastes time. For that matter, that’s what time-wasting is — thinking, saying, or doing, anything not in line with the Lord’s purpose for us.
The very opposite of sin, we might say, is to have a pure heart because a pure heart, by definition, has but one dominant motive — only one good reason — at play in all we think, say, or do. And when that’s the case, there’s no time wasting going on because everything we’re doing is serving that good reason.
What does living like this entail? Three things come to mind:
(1) Like the apostle Paul, we need to establish the reason why we are going to do what we do on any given day. We may need to ask,
(2) Then I’m finding it helpful to memorize a verse or phrase of Scripture that encapsulates that motive or reason.
(3) And thirdly, the moment temptation comes around we instantly recall that verse or phrase and repeatedly run it through our thoughts, trusting Jesus to deliver us until the temptation backs off. Enfolding that Scripture in thanks and praise will strengthen its hold on us.
Here’s a summary from Psalm 119:11: “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
