It’s Better Not To

 

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.”

—1 John 2:1a

Here’s a conversation from many years ago:

“I think I’m going to buy a Betamax video recorder.”

“Why not a VHS?”

“Betamax by Sony has a higher resolution and a more rugged transport.”

“Yes, but it costs nearly twice as much as a VHS.”

“I know. But, you get what you pay for!”

“Well, you can do what you want. My advice is that it’s better not to.”

My very dated reference might be lost on many readers. When consumer-grade color video recorders and players were introduced in 1975, the Sony Betamax was followed in a few weeks by the VHS format units. The video format wars began. Eventually, VHS won out because it was an open format that did not require manufacturers to pay the high licensing fee that Sony required.

You must understand that the Betamax was a far superior product. But, the lower cost of VHS won out in the end. Those who purchased Betamax units soon found that little content was made for that format.

From a purely technical standpoint, Betamax should have come out on top. But, quality lost to price. My friend warned me. When I announced my decision, he told me that “…it’s better not to.”

The Apostle John wrote to new Christians in the same spirit as my dear friend. You can find John’s advice in 1 John 2:1:

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

Here John gives top flight advice. It’s better to avoid sinning. Now because we’re all stained by Adam’s sin and will retain that sin nature until we die and pass into eternal life, we literally cannot totally and absolutely avoid sinning. In fact, everyone sins every day.

But, we can determine to examine our lives and do our best to keep from sinning in those areas where we have made the effort to gain control of our selfish wills and surrendered them to the control of the Holy Spirit. That’s part of developing a healthy spiritual formation.

The really good news is the latter part of this verse. We have a Savior. He has paid the penalty for our sin. Out of love for Him and devotion to the Father we should do our best to stop our besetting sins.

As we begin a new day, let us heed the Apostle John’s advice. Let’s both do our best to stop sinning and also celebrate the fact that we have a Savior. Both of those activities are worthy of dearly loved children who belong to God through Christ.

 

_{Copyright © 2016 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

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