Contrary to popular belief, “sin” is not simply restricted to doing bad things. Neither are the consequences of sin limited to the anger and frustration of God. No – all sin has real-life consequences. In fact, it’s these consequences that ought to remind us that sin is a serious problem. It is not just something we do that we know we shouldn’t…no, it’s far more treacherous than that. In fact, it’s probably better to think of sin as being alive – as if it has been born into the world through our negligence, our stupidity, or our wickedness, etc.
You see, every time we sin it’s as if we’ve brought home a pet monkey. This “sin monkey” has a mind of its own. It wants to do things that you don’t want it to do and it will certainly do those things while your attention is diverted elsewhere.
Furthermore, the things the monkey wants to do are not good things. Monkeys, as a rule, are mischievous and destructive. The monkey wants to smash your pictures, break your stuff, trounce your furniture, and harass your friends and family.
While the monkey is little, the consequences of bringing the monkey home seem miniscule and easy to repair. A small monkey is only likely to break a few picture frames which are easily replaced, just like a small lie is easy to correct or make-right once we’ve been caught in it.
Bigger sins, though, mean bigger monkeys. And bigger monkeys can do a lot of damage. A large monkey in your living room will trash your house, destroy your peace of mind, and keep the people you love away because they’re terrified. This, again, is just like bigger sins. A substance addiction, for example, will keep your friends away just as readily as a housebound gorilla.
And, of course, every sin monkey will grow until it is finally killed. Sin doesn’t just go away – remember, it is alive now that it has been born into the world – it must be put to death (see Romans 6.23, Colossians 3.5-6 etc). And the longer you let the monkey live, the harder it is to kill. It just keeps getting stronger and stronger and your fear of it keeps on growing.
So, what everyone needs to do is kill the monkey and fix their furniture.
You’ve got to invite God to kill the sin monkey – cooperating with Him and being obedient to His Spirit – and then you’ve got to invite God to help you repair everything that the sin monkey has ruined – furniture, relationships, possessions, self-image, and every little thing in between.
Kill the monkey. Fix the furniture.
That’s the bottom line.
Excerpt from Sin Monkey.