If you’ve ever been to the zoo or gone camping you see the signs everywhere. “Please Do Not Feed the Animals!” The most obvious reason for this is to protect people from getting bitten or mauled. Believe it or not, one summer I was camping in the Sequoia’s and had the opportunity to witness ignorance in action when a sweet little old lady approached a cute medium-sized bear to feed it berries. The woman ignored my many attempts to convince her to stop and the bear charged her. Fortunately for her, at the last second the bear cut left into a meadow with as much grace as an NFL running back...albeit on all fours.
There is, however, another reason not to feed the animals that many of us don’t often think about. When we feed wild animals, they become complacent and take the easy way out. Why hunt or forage for food if you have a bunch of humans in the vicinity who will just hand you something to eat? This is also why many sick or injured animals who are temporarily cared for and brought back to good health have difficulty readapting to life in the wild.
We Christians have a similar problem. It is easier to feed our desire than to fight temptation. Sinning is easy. The Christian walk is not. Ask yourself this—is it easy or difficult to look at beautiful women? Is it easy or difficult to laugh at the offensive joke told by a co-worker? Is it easy or difficult to drop coin after coin into a slot machine? Is it easy or difficult to sit and watch television while your wife slaves around the house?
Men, the world does what is easy. Our path is a tough road that leads to a narrow gate. Don’t feed your pet sins by taking the easy road. “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you…If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you.” (Matt. 18:8-9) Translation—if your eyes cause you to stumble, toss out your TV, pull the plug on your internet, don’t hang out at bars, don’t go to Vegas! Don’t place yourself where you will cave into temptation and easily feed your sin! Otherwise, you will become complacent about it and you will suddenly find yourself eating out of the hand of the harlot instead of “on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Deut. 8:3)
“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lust.” (Romans 13:14)
Sin is an animal. Don’t feed the animals!
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Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. — 2 Timothy 2:21-22
The reason we continue with these pockets of repeated sins is because we have a heartfelt desire to continue them, not because we have a heartfelt desire to stop them. I wonder how honest our commitment is to quit. There’s a tendency for us to kid ourselves about this anytime we embrace a pet sin. We need to face the fact that we commit sin because we want to do that sin more than we want to obey Christ at the moment. — R.C. Sproul
What makes a man a sinner? Nothing but the power and working of his own will in independence from God. — William Law
We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. — C.S. Lewis