Tangled Up

I have a special ability. It’s a gift, really. I’m not bragging here, I’m just stating fact. No matter where I am in the world, or what I am doing, I have a sixth sense that allows me to detect and make physical contact with spiderwebs. Even if there is a a line of sixty people, and I am the last one in that line, and everyone before me is taller than me, and none of them walk through it, I could walk exactly in the same path and discover even just a single strand of spider silk, and it will stick to my face or my head. It’s just an amazing trait I carry.

Others have been able to do this, and not all of us have been happy with this particular faculty. I, for one, do NOT like spiders. I’m not so much scared of them, because I will step on them and get rid of them, but they still give me the old-fashioned “Willies.” But those silly invisible webs leave me feeling dirty and unclean. Once I hit one, and get tangled up in those little strands, it takes a lot of effort and work to feel like I’ve fully removed the offending “strings.”

I’m not proud of this, but I’ve been known to take a whole shower just because I could still feel the small threads stuck to my head stubble or brushing against my arm. It bothers me to a level that is beyond rational, and borders on Obsessive/Compulsive. Please don’t judge me...we all have our “things,” and this is mine.

How often could these “phantom webs” be similar to sin in this world? We could be walking around, minding our own business, and before we know it, we’ve stumbled upon something that we have no business being around. Maybe you were at school, just walking to class with some friends when you ran into a situation where you were picking on someone and tearing them down, just to get a laugh. Possibly you were just walking to the copy room at work, and before we know it, we have hit a conversation with co-workers full of juicy gossip. What if you were just sitting at Burger King having a juicy Whopper with Cheese and you stumbled upon an intense jealousy and desire for the iPad 2 that the guy eating chicken fries two tables over is using?

The truth is, not all sin is obvious and easy to spot. Before we know it, we are tangled up in it, and we didn’t even see it coming. Here’s the problem, not everyone responds to the tangle of sin the way I obsess over spider webs. Some people still don’t even know it’s there and feel nothing. Sometimes I don’t even notice that type of entanglement. The sin just stays on us as we go our merry way.

How cool would it be if we could feel these sin webs as soon as we spotted them, giving us the ability to avoid them altogether? Or even if we could just immediately feel dirty and wrapped up enough in our sin to repent and ask forgiveness on the spot.That would be a helpful ability.

Oh wait! We DO have that ability. It’s called the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us as followers of Jesus Christ. (Admit it, some of you didn’t see that coming.) If we learn to listen to and follow the guidance of the Spirit that lives within us, He can warn us well in advance of getting tangled up in Sin. Not only that, but if we should be so unfortunate as to choose to ignore Him, then He will also impress upon us the conviction that we have fallen into sinful behaviors or attitudes. We can then immediately ask for forgiveness, and turn away from that web of mistakes. Yes, there may be some lingering consequences that leave you uncomfortable, but even the stickiest web can eventually be washed away.

Scripture tells us to “Be alert…” Actually, it says it 8 times in the NIV according to BibleGateway.com, but all of them refer to staying aware of our surroundings--both physical and spiritual--and watching out for danger. Sin is dangerous. But, if we trust the Holy Spirit, and pay attention to when He warns us, we can learn to avoid these invisible silks, and walk in the path of righteousness that is free from spiders altogether.