12/1/07 - Life Journal - Love God, Do What You Want

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
Romans 6:15

This seems to have been as common a problem back then as it is today. People using the grace of God and his gift of salvation as a license to live however they pleased. Paul goes on to say that if you are still willfully living in sin you are slave to the sin and lawlessness and ultimately to death. Once we take on the badge of the cross and submit to God we are free of sin and "slaves of righteousness".

St. Augustine said to love God and do as you please. Was he endorsing the Nicolaitan lifestyle here? Not at all, with a true love of the Father in our hearts we'll not want to do anything to disappoint (tick off) God. Even if we tried, that Holy Spirit is the worst guilt enhancer you can imagine. Stuff that used to be fun have somehow lost their luster. That or God will make them unenjoyable. There's an old line from Hank Jr that goes, "..and the hangovers hurt more than they used to.." God'll do that to you, and added with the guilt you feel, sometimes during or right after the act of sin, really takes the fun out of things. I just need to be more aware of this and catch myself before the guilt, pain and hurt. Things would be a lot easier.

Father, I know it's not worth it, in the short or long run. So I guess the question is why?