Hello Steemains,

Today, I want to talk about what people may call habit while some may call it an unconscious act. The Bible says we work towards perfection, but there are things we need to watch out for and be mindful of how we live. Have you ever seen yourself doing something that you know is wrong before God over and over again? Most times, it's not something we do intentionally may because it has become part of our lives, it's no big deal, after all, God might perhaps understand. We do it on a daily basis that it has become so normal, we no longer feel bad or guilty about it. We no longer count it as a sin against God, but the truth is sin is a sin. There's no day that I don't ask God to forgive my sins both the ones that I did knowingly or unknowingly. Ordinarily, someone might say it's impossible not to know when you sin against God so why say such prayer? Well, I was ignorant of easily besetting sins until I listened to a sermon on it. At that point, I became conscious of my actual habits and then, I realized that I have been sinning against God without knowing it. We are all prone to one sin or the other.

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We can only ask forgiveness from God when we go against His laws. Sinning against God comes with what I call a sense of guilt. You know you've sinned against your Father and want to make it up to Him by saying you are sorry, but these easily besetting sins won't allow us to ask forgiveness because we won't feel that guilt. There is a particular feeling that accompanies sinning against God, and when we don't feel that human shame before God then we need to be watchful of besetting sin. Besetting sins are sins that are easily committed to a point it's regarded as normal. Sometimes believers feel those sins don't count we feel there's no point asking forgiveness concerning it after all you haven't done anything wrong. And sometimes we feel we don't owe anyone an explanation, but the Bible warns against it. The truth is these sins are usually committed in the line of duty, businesses, and as a result of our professions.

Let's take a look at two scenarios: A conversation between a believer and a non-believer. It's an office setting where bribery is the order of the day. Everyone in that office collects bribe. So, the customers are already aware that in order to get your job done they wi have to bribe the staff.

Conversation A - It's a dialogue between a Non-believer who's not ashamed to ask for bribe from the customers. And here it goes;

Visitor: Please, I am here to see if my file has been submitted
Non-believer: I have told you to drop something for the girl that's if you want your file to be submitted
Visitor: Oh okay! It's no big deal then. Here's something for you
Non-believer: Wow! Thanks! I shall submit your file right away

Conversation B - A dialogue between a believer who never asked for any bribe, but the customer assumes she/he is the same with every other staff in that organization. And here it goes;

Visitor: please, I am here to submit my file, but before that here's something for you
Believer: Wow! Thank you very much! I shall submit your file right away

When you carefully look at these two scenarios, the two staff both collected bribe although the believer never asked for it she/he knows why the customer gave out that tips but collected it anyway. For believers that are into different businesses that require them to be sugar-coated to attract customers. Sometimes, they find themselves hyping the product more than what it does, and lie in the process. Of course, they won't count it as a lie because they have said too many things at a time and maybe business was a bit slow so they want to sell at all cost. These are cases of easily besetting sins.

Examples of Easily Besetting Sins

Here are some of the examples of easily besetting sins;

• All form of corruption
• Abuse of office
• Taking advantage of the weak
• Failure to put your talent into use
• All forms of disobedience
• Gossip
• Thought - Wicked, envious and lustful thoughts
• Procrastination
• Drunkness
• Covetousness

In Conclusion,

Like I said earlier, these are some of the things we do all the time. We are all struggling to over it. Sometimes, it has eaten deep into our lives like a cankerworm but I believe we can overcome all of it through Christ that strengthens us. The bible says we should exam ourselves daily. I was able to overcome mine by taking notice of the things I do when I asked the Holy Spirit to help me over and to say No to such habits, but that doesn't mean I am not still struggling with others. St Paul talks about overcoming those things in Romans 6:11.

Thank you for reading!!!