The erosion of character usually begins with neglect: we stop reading the Word, or worshiping with God's people, or taking time to meditate and pray. We stop hungering for holiness and exercising spiritual disciplines. We stop making sacrifices that show our special love for Christ and His people. We do our job mechanically, because our heart isn't in it. In time, we even find ourselves "making arrangements to sin," convinced that what nobody knows, we can get away with.

The process is deadly: first the drifting, then the secret sinning, then the hidden eroding of character that ultimately leads to the embarrassing public fall. As time goes on, we find it more convenient to sin (we don't have to be tempted, we tempt ourselves) and easier to laugh it off. "It's not really serious," we say to ourselves, "God understands and forgives."

We stop enjoying the good people and healthy experiences of real life, looking instead for substitutes in a fantasy world of our own creation. In our imagination, where nobody can see it, we build our own secret world where we have the power and we enjoy the success. In this alternate world, we satisfy unholy appetites that family and friends would be shocked to discover. We think we can enjoy these sins "safely" because all this corruption is hidden in our private picture gallery.

Our imagination gives birth to sin, and sin, being a murderer, grows up and starts to kill (James 1:15). Character dies, devotion dies, a happy home dies, a reputation dies, a ministry dies--and perhaps the minister dies too. What could have been a fruitful garden becomes a trash heap and then a graveyard.

Adapted from Warren Wiersbe, 10 Power Principles for Christian Service, "The Foundation of Ministry is Character" (Baker, 1997)

Making It Personal:

Have I been neglecting spiritual disciplines because I am so busy with my work for God?

Are there any reoccurring sins in my life to which I have grown accustomed?

Am I using the "freedom" of ministry to indulge in sins of sloth, like lust, overeating, and laziness?

Devotional Reflections:

Colossians 3:1-17

(Access the Bible Online)