Since becoming a dad I’ve spent a lot more time at (and on) playgrounds than I ever would have expected. It’s a good thing. But I’ve begun to develop opinions about what a good playground is (and isn’t).
We visited one that got pretty high marks from me, except for one colossally stupid thing. See if you can figure it out from the pictures below.
That’s a wicked drop at the end! This was the tiny playground for the tiny kids…and it had a HUGE drop at the end of the slide! (cute pics though, right?)
I’ve been reminded of what it’s like to sit at the top of a slide, summon the courage, and then just “GO!” I can see it in my kids eyes every time. It’s an awesome feeling. Letting gravity and inertia take over as they speed downward is a big thrill. But this particular big thrill came with a big crash at the end.
And now the abrupt turn to application:
That slide reminded me of the patterns of sin.
I’ll be honest, it’s a bit off-putting that many preacher-types (like me) tend to deny that sin can be fun. We feel like you’ll definitely take our acknowledgement and turn it into a binge (we’re not very trusting people). Preacher-types (like me) are always afraid of saying the wrong thing. But come on, let’s be honest: people often struggle with certain sins because they’re fun. If sin started out crappy, it wouldn’t be such a problem.
Sometimes it’s exhilarating to just throw caution to the wind and let gravity and inertia take over as you speed downward. But this particular thrill comes with a big crash at the end (reminds me of Judges). So here are two obvious pleas from a preacher-type who gave up on subtly long ago:
- It hurts really stinking bad to crash at the end.
- God hates to see you mangled at the end of a ride that wasn’t worth it, even more than I hate to see my kids in that place (which is more than you can imagine).
That’s why I didn’t let Bree go down that slide, by the way. And believe me, she wanted to.
Now the cryptic (but nonetheless true) verse of warning:
James 1:14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
- Have you ever felt like “we” fail to acknowledge that sin can be fun?
- Do you ever feel like preacher-types (like me) are too careful?
- How often can you see the crash at the end, in advance?
- Seriously, how cute are those pictures?!
Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
1. Well, sometimes is the answer for that. I feel like we hear a lot, like you said, how sin is bad and to just stay away… but you say don’t touch the stove/oven/iron to little kids, too, and I don’t know a single person out there who didn’t touch one of those when they were little. In the same way, church-goers don’t always hear the whys about sinning; that we do it because it’s our nature and keep doing it because it meshes with that (therefore, it’s fun), and I think that’s something that should be brought up more often. And all that in light of the cross, of course, and how that can change our hearts to turn from our very core nature and how amazing that is.
2.Maybe. Preachers ought to teach what the Bible says unapologetically, and that means teaching that we love sin and want more of it, but that Christ can change our hearts and make us want him more. Ministry is taught with grace and truth, and sometimes (ok, usually) the half of the truth about us and our sin hurts, but we need to understand it to really understand the Truth and grace offered to us.
3. I think more often than not we can see the crash from the very beginning. Especially if we are Christians. We are very, very good, however, at telling ourselves otherwise: that we didn’t see it, that it won’t be so bad, that it won’t hurt US, it’ll be different this time because we know the potential end…. But in the end, when we choose it, it’s good to know that if we love God, he’ll work it for our good.
4. Seriously, they’re adorable!
Dixie, great thoughts! especially #2…I could put that on a really long t-shirt.