Minister’s Corner: Avoiding sinful situations

By: DR. BRIAN DORE’
Member of the VP Ministerial Alliance

There’s an old joke about a man who went to the doctor and said, “Doctor, it hurts so bad when I move my arm back and forth like this. What should I do?” The doctor said, “Stop moving your arm back and forth like that.” That’s sound medical advice, but it’s also good spiritual advice. If you find that doing certain things, or being with certain people, or putting yourself in a certain environment causes you to sin, then avoid those situations. The apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 2:11, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.”
Do you remember when you were little and you would go to the kitchen when your mother was cooking supper and you would ask for a snack? What would she say? “No, you will spoil your appetite.” It makes sense. Eating a bag of potato chips a half an hour before meal time will make you less hungry when it is time to eat.
In the same way, there are certain things in life that will spoil your appetite of obedience. The best thing you can do is to avoid them at all costs. There may be some things in life that you have to eliminate, not because they are sinful in themselves, but because they lead you to sin. If you find that listening to a certain kind of music, or watching certain TV programs, or being with certain people tends to provoke you to sin, then avoid them at all costs. Don’t spoil your appetite.