Itchy?
Early last week, I was cleaning around the building and I came into contact with the well-known poison ivy plant. This was obvious because a couple days later, some small bumps began to surface on my hand and arm. This was not my first encounter with the poison ivy plant and the allergic rash that comes with its contact. Even growing up, I always had an allergic reaction to the plant. It is said that 75% of people are allergic to the oils on the ivy plant. If you fall into that 75%, then you will truly be able to relate to what I am about to say. If you are of the rare 25%, then let me explain how itchy poison ivy is. When I get a poison ivy rash from coming into contact with the oils on the plant, I try not to scratch the rash. However, as the rash develops, the desire to scratch the rash becomes more and more intense because the rash gets itchier and itchier. Unfortunately, it seems to always happen. It usually begins by glossing over the rash with the hand (or touching it because the bumps feel weird) which, in turn, leads to a rub of the rash, which then leads to a scratch of the rash, and finally results in an all out scratching of the rash until my heart is utterly content or until the rash burns like fire. The problem with scratching the rash is that it makes the rash worse. You might wonder, why scratch it then? It is simple. Not only is it so itchy, but once you start scratching the rash, it feels awesome, so much so that you cannot stop. In the back of your mind, you realize you shouldn’t be scratching it but you do so anyway because it is so relieving. Now, you might be thinking why all this about poison ivy and the poison ivy plant? Well, I liken the poison ivy plant, the poison ivy rash, and the urge to scratch it to that of temptation, sin, and the urge to give into it. First of all, we all come into contact with the temptation to sin, just like I would say that we all one time or another have come into contact with the poison ivy plant. However, unlike the 75% of people who are susceptible to an allergic reaction to poison ivy that results in a rash, all (100% of us) are susceptible to the rash of the devil, that being the temptation of the devil to sin. Even Jesus was tempted by Satan. “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt. 4:1). In other words, Jesus was "tempted," enticed to do wrong (sin) by the devil. Secondly, I am confident to say all who have had the poison ivy rash have scratched the rash at one time or another. In similar way, all who come into contact with the temptation to sin have and will give into the sinful scratching of the devil’s rash. In Romans 3:23, we see “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All have sinned meaning all have given into the devil’s temptation to scratch the devil’s rash and fall short meaning we will all continue to scratch the devil’s rash. But let us understand something. While I am calling it the devil’s rash, it is Satan’s tempting of our own desires that encourages us scratch the sinful rash. Then when we give into the tempting of our own sinful desires (that Satan uses against us), we, therefore, commit sin. This is what we see in James. “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;…” (James 1:14-15). Scratching the devil’s rash makes things worse, because he knows what we are vulnerable to. In other words, he knows what we are susceptible to and will use that against us. Not only that, but it affects our relationship with God. Thirdly, like the poison ivy rash, when we have a sinful scratch and we scratch it, it is relieving and feels good to itch it. You may be thinking, is that true? In James 1:14, the KJ version uses “lust” instead of “desires”. Both words mean “passionate longing, craving, desire for what is forbidden” which, in fact, implies a satisfaction or a pleasure if given into. This is consistent with what we see in Hebrews 11:25 where Moses chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin”. Listen, as Christians, and as followers of Jesus Christ who have dedicated themselves to following the Master, we need not continue in sin (Rom. 6:6). Therefore, we need to diligently strive to refrain from scratching every sinful itch that we have. In other words, it’s not okay to just simply give in every time we have a sinful itch because it feels good or because we are tired of refraining. So what do we do to overcome this poison? After all, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. In the words and advice of Jesus in Mark 14:38, we need to "Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation…" Strong defines “watch,” as “to watch, give strict attention to, be cautious, active, to take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one.” That is to say, we need to develop in us an acute awareness of our own struggles and sinful desires and forever be cautious that we do not give into those pleasurable temptations regardless of how good it might feel or how strong the urges become. And let us pray that God will “deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:13) and that He us help us find the way of escape that He has provided (1 Cor. 10:13). Unlike a poison ivy rash, giving into sin has eternal consequences and a severe effect on our relationship with God. Therefore, let us forever be cautious and give strict attention to our own sinful rashes and pray that we will not succumb to the itches “which so easily ensnare us” (Heb. 12:1), no matter how strong the urges may be.