Now Or Later?

There was a popular TV commercial that ran in the 80’s from a company that sold oil filters. The setup was based on how often people neglected to replace their oil filter at proper intervals. The service technician in the clip pronounced, “You can pay me now or you can pay me later.” He was referring to the small price of an oil filer compared to the exorbitant price of an engine overhaul.

There’s another old saying says, “A stitch in time saves nine.”  What it means is that a little maintenance early on can help prevent major damage control later. Taking care of regularly scheduled maintenance with oil and filter changes keeps you and your vehicle from serious downtime and cost.

The same thing is true with sin in our lives. Too often, we let little sins creep in, promising ourselves that it is no big deal or we’ll take care of it later. Instead of taking care of the problem from the start, the small sins that seem so insignificant grow and change until they are bigger and often out of control. Each time we make a bad decision and choose to sin, it becomes harder and harder to fix the problem. A five dollar filter becomes a 5,000 dollar money pit and the next thing you know, you’re paying out the nose for your neglect.

In the story of Cain and Abel, the Lord speaks to Cain and tells him to beware of sin. Cain was consumed with jealousy and let it fester and grow until he snapped. God pointed out to him, “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)

When we choose to allow sins such as greed, anger or jealousy to go unaddressed in our lives, they become bigger and bigger to the point where we can end up out of control. We cannot conquer sin alone. With God’s power, we can tackle sin so that it does not become our master.

Don’t let the small temptations build up until they get out of control. Don’t put off until tomorrow that which you can take care of today. It will only make the problem worse.

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