What Do Sin and Weight Gain Have in Common?

by Teresa Slack

So I earned this amazing trip to Charleston, SC through my Scentsy business. I’m super excited and totally looking forward to the trip. Problem is it’s next month, and I can’t fit into my cute summer clothes from last year. I have this adorable little black dress that will be perfect for our last night extravaganza. Right now, it fits me like a feed sack. (In case you’re unfamiliar with feed sacks, suffice it to say, they are not figure flattering.)

I’ve begun a rigorous exercise and weight loss program. Well, not too rigorous, but I’m determined to get into that dress.

Anyway, on the way to church this morning my husband commented about someone we knew who had fallen away from the church. My husband wondered how it could happen “all of the sudden”.

I reminded him it’s never all of a sudden. Sin is sneaky. It creeps up on us like a thief in the night. Much like weight gain. I didn’t intend to eat too much all winter. I didn’t mean for my slacks to no longer zip all the way up my stomach. It was a gradual process exacerbated by foregoing my workout routine too many times and eating that extra cookie. By drinking Pepsi when I should’ve chosen water. By going through the drive-through instead of coming home and cooking something without all the processed fat.

I ignored the signs and let the situation get out of hand. Now I’m paying the price. Many of us don’t see when we’re falling away from God. We think everything’s fine even though we don’t pray as much as we used to or spend as much time in His Word or feel that little prick of conviction when a coworker tells a dirty joke and we don't walk away.

The mirror won’t tell us our spiritual health is in danger. At least not the one hanging in the bathroom. Our spiritual mirror is God’s word. Do you need to take a good hard look in that mirror to determine if there’s something amiss with your spiritual health?

All of us should do this on a regular basis. Just like with our physical health, we need to stay on track, get our "checkups", pay attention to the signs, and not be blindsided “all of the sudden” after sin has gained a stronghold in our lives.