“So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:17

To be transparent about our sins and burdens is a call God gives to His children. I believe true transformation, in ourselves and those sharing life with us, happens when we become vulnerable with the intent to save someone else from making the same mistakes we have.

Ephesians 6:14-17 says, 14 “So stand firm and hold your ground, HAVING TIGHTENED THE WIDE BAND OF TRUTH (personal integrity, moral courage) AROUND YOUR WAIST and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (an upright heart), 15 and having strapped on YOUR FEET THE GOSPEL OF PEACE IN PREPARATION [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]. 16 Above all, lift up the [protective] shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”

Tuesday this past week, many things conspired so that I would find myself in our local superstore for the second day in a row, a true abnormality. I was so excited to be picking out Christmas gifts for a toy drive. I thought I was on a mission to bless a child living thousands of miles away. What resulted was me missing an opportunity to be the voice of Jesus to a hurting person and the opportunity to administer love through holding hands in prayer.

The part that breaks my heart the most is admitting I could feel the deception the devil was placing in front of me to stop me from kneeling on the floor and praying with this person. I felt the clear nudge plain as day, sit down and pray with her, and in my mind’s eye I saw myself stoop down on the floor and take the hands of this hurting soul and pray. Instead I kept my hands on my cart, spoke some awkward words of validation and encouragement from a standing position, and finally moved on to finish my “good deed” of shopping for the orphan child.

There is no condemnation for those in Christ, and God is faithful to forgive those who seek His forgiveness in contrition. The devil’s tactic is guilt and shame and condemnation. I know God has forgiven me for my sin of neglecting to pray then and there, because I have sincerely asked Him for forgiveness, but I am struggling to forgive myself. Human nature allows the devil to speak his lies because self-inflicted punishment seems to feel better than allowing forgiveness. Forgiveness is so foreign to us. But what a sad deception to operate under.

For nearly a week, this scene in my head and the scene that actually played out have wrenched my heart. I was so “busy” getting those perfect Christmas gifts that I didn’t allow time to let the Holy Spirit move.

In retrospect, I can see exactly how Jesus would have loved this person- with a prayer, sitting eye to eye and ending with a hug. Matthew 9:36 says, “When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion and pity for them, because they were dispirited and distressed…”

Sin isn’t always about evil and ugly things. It can be about the good we don’t do. As Christians, when we keep ourselves pretty and tidy on the outside, we don’t tend to think about committing sin by neglecting to do something good. Instead we might falsely live under deception justifying choices by thoughts like, “at least I don’t do this or that”.

I chose not to pray. Praying linked to sin, how can that be? By my choosing not to take time and address the hurting humanity I saw in this person, which payer would have comforted, it was a sin for me. I knew prayer was the answer. Adding salt to injury, my shirt said, “pray on it, pray over it, pray through it”. Prayer in that moment was the issue. My heart’s posture being unwilling to do so was the sinful part.

Truth calls us out on our hypocrisy or our obtuseness, if we allow it. We might be well meaning but still miss the mark. Truth will call us out. When we truly want to serve God by being His hands and feet, we have to be fully present, sober-minded, and alert to the devil’s deceptive schemes to thwart God’s good intentions. Heaven is brought to earth by the children of God doing His will.

I share my heartache with you today to encourage you. There are hurting souls out there that God wants to bind up through your loving embrace and mine. Be sensitive to His voice and be ever discerning of the devil’s deception via nonsense distractions or worse excuses. The devil wins by half-truths and keeping us in our comfort zones. God wins by our personal surrender and submission to him no matter the discomfort and genuine care for others over ourselves.

“The Lord is near to the heartbroken And He saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).” Psalm 34:18