ON THE VANGUARD

MASTERED OR MASTER?

"The LORD said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.'"
Genesis 4:6-7

This is not the first time I have read this, but it is the first time it jumped. Sin is waiting for us, to pounce on us. In I Peter 5:8 we are told that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, and as such we must be self-controlled. We must be at a point where we take our thoughts and actions captive and measure them according to God's word. But the second part of the passage in Genesis reminds me of another scripture. We are to master sin. Romans 6:14 says that sin shall not be our master.
As I was driving into work today God showed me how this fits in my own life. I was reminded of Joseph, who when approached by Potiphar's wife, ran out the door (Gen 39:12). Maybe she was good looking, and maybe she knew some tantric art that would have blown his mind, but he didn't wait around to find out. Instead, he became master over sin. And as we see by the rest of his life, God brought great promotion to Joseph in the years to come. To go from a farm boy to prisoner to the equal of the Vice President can only be done by God.
So this makes me want to look deeper at my own life. Being divorced for two years now seems to like a great amount of time at times. But when I compare how I felt on day 1 verses how I feel now on day 759, I can't say I feel as different as I hoped. I still struggle looking in the mirror at myself, still question if I made the right decisions, and still wonder if I could have tried harder. Add to that the questions of if I am raising my kids right and if I am being all I can be for God, and it starts to get overwhelming. But wait, there's more. I feel fat, depressed at times, hypocritical, stagnate, and too lazy to change. I fear accountability because it means I might have do something I don't want to do, or share a part a part of me I'd rather keep hidden.
The seven deadly sins, per the monk Evagrius Ponticus are: lust, gluttony, greed, discouragement, wrath, envy, and pride. How many of these have I struggled with just in the past 2 years? I'd have to say all of them in some respect. But when I gain a clear mind long enough to hear God, I hear Him telling me that sin is becoming my master. I have given in and allowed myself to be pounced on and devoured by the enemy. Just looking at myself in the mirror, I see the effects of gluttony and discouragement. In my eyes I see that drive for lust and revenge, and what I can gain. And I know that my heart is still filled with the 'me' factor, saying, '...I deserve, ...I should have, ...I desire.' The truth is I deserve the reward for sin as told of in Romans 6:23, death.
God is gracious, though. Thank goodness. Thank you God for not leaving me in my pity and wallowing, but giving me hope. The truth is that my eyes are fixed on me and not on Him. Joseph had his eyes on God, and it made all the difference. He was in time promoted to a position that only God could have given him. And the same is true with us. I know for me, I need to re-adjust my focus and seek God (Matt 6:33). In due time, He will promote me also. And I'm not saying that I will be the Vice President someday, but promote me to a place where I am not afraid to look in the mirror because at that point the person I see will be Christ in me, and not the decay of the enemy.
The point of all this is to remind you to not let sin, of any sort, be your master. Rather be master over sin. Keep in mind; we are powerless on our own, which would explain why we get defeated so often. But with God, we have the ability and power to block and defeat the enemy. Let's take mastery over sin. I'm ready, are you? If so, then join me ON THE VANGUARD!