Progressive Sin

Recently one of the courses my wife had in school was investigative accounting. In other words, it was learning how to catch the embezzler among other things. It was interesting to me how most if not all situations were similar. The culprit would borrow $20 out of petty cash in desperation to pay for something and then they would return it in a few days or weeks. No one would even notice and so this would be the beginning of much more to come. Being the accountant or bookkeeper of the business they started discovering new ways to borrow/embezzle/steal money by simply changing things in their books. At first they always had “good intentions” of returning the money until they realized they had stolen over half a million dollars. Then they couldn’t find a way out.

Through all of this they somehow discovered justifications for every dime they took. Even when they bought their daughter a new car, needed a boat, new clothes or paid their son’s tuition through college and anything else they just had to have. Eventually they are always caught and faced with pay it back or jail time.

This is progressive sin and we are all guilty of it, maybe not to that extreme, but guilty. It may be a bite of ice cream, glance at a dirty picture, or one little lie and so on. I remember when I was in high school I would cut class. The next day I would sweat the entire day wondering when I was going to get called to the principal’s office. If I didn’t get in trouble for several days then I would try it again and again until I got busted. After everything cooled off the process would start all over again.

In my experience falling into sin is not a cliff or a fireman’s pole, but more of a spiraling staircase. One step at a time. This is how Satan tempts us to commit sin is by nudging us little by little until it’s too late.

The chronic gambler, serial killer, rapist, or burglar started out one step at a time. If they weren’t discovered, then they would attempt it again and again. I would hope that none of you struggle with any of these things. However, we all struggle with something.

The bottom line and the main point I’d like to make is the reason most people choose to do right has nothing to do with moral beliefs or integrity, but fear of getting caught. It’s like when our parents caught us doing something wrong we weren’t upset at what we did as much as were about getting caught.

I believe I said in a previous Bus Stop if you wanted to see the full depravity of man all we would have to do is do away with the laws for 3 days. No one have to answer for anything they did during these 3 days. I think we would all be amazed of what we saw. It’s already happened in many countries, especially during war time. The Nazi forces could do whatever they wished; rape, pillage and murder with no consequence for anything they did. The Japanese did the same thing during WWII as well as Saddam Hussein and his sons and many, many more. They had no law or were above the law. Of course, there is consequence eventually. We know how it ended for all of them.

Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. James 1:15