THE AGE OLD CONFLICT

I am married to an addict, and I myself am one also. Someone forgot to have the "stop button" wired as part of our growth process, someone just forgot to activate the "shut down” button. Addictions are habits that control us.

But, I digress. Back to my wife and her addiction problem. It is chocolate candy. Chocolate candy from Mother See's candy store to be specific. Last week was our anniversary and after a nice dinner at a well known restaurant, I said, "Lets go to the mall and buy a box of See's candy." I had forgotten about her inability to exert self control in this area of vulnerability.

To balance this presentation, let me state that I have a similar problem which centers around cashew nuts. I tend to lose control when I pop open the lid on a container of Planters cashew nuts. I have been known to eat the entire can in one sitting. I feel so guilty and defensive later when people ask, "Where are the cashews?" They know where they are, but they want to make sure everyone else in the house knows where they are too. I have hidden them in the garage, in the car, in my desk.

My wife and I are good people. We are kind to animals. We support the P.T.A. We help elderly folks cross the street. We like children most of the time.

But, we are addicts. Unable to control our cravings, we succumb to "binging" on See's chocolate candies for Pam, Planters Cashews for Brian. Knowing our weaknesses, we only buy them once or twice a year and eat them in one sitting. We cannot eliminate them entirely from our lives, but we can practice moderation by eating them only a couple of times each year.

Well, let's talk about chapters 6, 7, and 8 of the New Testament Book of Romans. Talk about mankind's ultimate addiction and fight to the death. This is it. Chapter 6 has been described as the smoothly running machine. Chapter 7 as the monkey wrench in the machinery. And, chapter 8 features the mechanic who comes to remove the monkey wrench, put oil into the machine, and keeps the finely tuned machine running again. Yes, sad to say that sin is the addiction that collectively besets the entire human race, and it is sin that captivates each one of us individually.

Everyone I ask can remember those first 4 or 5 times when they knowingly and intentionally violated their conscience. For me, it included stealing a toy bank from a department store in Huntington Park, California, and later an Esterbrook Ink Pen from an Owl Drug Store on Florence Avenue west of Compton Avenue. Both crimes were committed between ages 8 and 10, and seared upon my conscience forever along with many other acts as the years unfolded. I could walk you through the minutes before the act when temptation raged within me, and the minutes afterward when I guiltily made my escape.

There is no need for a "book of accusation" to be opened in heaven to describe our moral failures. Each of us carries such a book around with us every day, and it sits upon our shoulders, encased in our bony cranial computer case accumulating every detail of our waking moments.

As a former attorney, I occasionally used "expert witnesses" in trials. These were people who had special knowledge and experience about some matter which qualified them to render an opinion in court that a judge or jury could rely upon.

I never used an expert witness on issues of sin or moral failure. Didn't need one. Every judge, every juror, every bailiff or court clerk or attorney or visitor to the courtroom was an expert witness on the subject of sin and personal moral failure. It is a universal condition affecting all of us. Paul said that we know what is right to do, but we do that which is bad. We all can relate to that.

We all might have starred in the Walt Disney classic movie, "Pinocchio." Every one of our noses would have also grown 12 inches and our donkey ears would have poked out of our hats. No one has to really convince anyone that they sin. We may all try to argue the point intellectually and put on a good show, but deep down in our heart, in the middle of the night, when we are all alone, we know that we embrace sin and that we fail to meet God's expectations.

So, what to do? What to do? Oh, Lord – what to do?

Read chapter 8 of Romans again, that is what to do. We cannot do it ourselves. We need help. We need the Holy Spirit of God to invade our lives and fight our battles. Oh, weak and puny man that I am, the God of the Universe has already fought the fight and won the victory. So, get with the program and turn things over to the cross bearer, Jesus. That is where the fight started and the resurrected Christ of the empty tomb is where the fight ended. Those 3 chapters of Romans are a recognition that none of us can fight sin without the overcoming presence of God in our lives. Make your sin problem God's sin problem. Let Him fight your battles and champion your cause (Romans 8:8-14).

Jesus said, "Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." He has never reneged on that promise, and He never will.