The Danger of Denial

I am sure that you have heard the urban legend about the domestic worker who broke his madam’s precious, bone-china coffee mug. Hoping to minimise her wrath, he explained that “it wanted to break madam”. If you refuse to blame yourself for breaking something, why not blame the object itself?

Denial is a common human condition. In fact, I am pretty good at blame shifting myself. I suppose we all are, which is certainly the assumption of James in his letter to “the twelve tribes, scattered among the nations”. Scholars tell us that these were probably Jewish Christians dispersed by the persecution that broke out against the Jerusalem church after the stoning of Stephen (Acts 8:1-3). Life would have been tough for these refugees, so James opened his letter with advice about how to handle trials (the subject of my last three blogs).

In verse 13, James shifts from the topic of trials to the topic of temptation. This is logical, for an external trial often gives rise to an internal temptation. Significantly, James begins by saying, “when tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me’”. Humans love to blame shift, so why not blame God? Didn’t Adam say, “The woman YOU put here with me – SHE gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (Gen. 3:12)? Blame God. Blame the woman. But whatever you do, do not blame yourself, Adam.

The fact, nonetheless, is that there is nothing in God that makes sin attractive to Him. He does not find the thought of tempting you alluring (13). However, there IS something in humans that makes sin attractive. James calls it lust or evil desire (14). This is where the temptation comes from. And denial is terrifying, for it gives your evil desires free reign, leaving them unchallenged.

Now why would unbridled evil desire be such a terrifying thing? James tells us in verse 15: desire conceives and gives birth to a daughter called sin; and sin, when she has grown up, conceives and gives birth to another called death. The gender in the Greek is female so as to emphasise the imagery of reproduction.

Blame shifting shows that you are not taking responsibility for your sin. You are in denial. And when you are in denial, your sin is growing. Where will it all end? With Ted Bundy the serial killer and rapist, it all began when he was a small boy walking down a country road. A car passed him, and the driver threw a pornographic magazine out of the window...

But we need not leave our evil desires unrestricted. And the basis of my ability to overcome evil desire is firmly grounded in what God has given me: new birth. In verses 16 to 17, James uses the example of rebirth to make the point that God does not give us bad things like temptation, but He does give us good gifts instead. I am sure that James used the example of rebirth because it is essential if we are to conquer the temptation of our evil desires. Now that you are a child of God, sin has no power over you. God is your dad. You have inherited His family likeness; therefore, your evil desires will only have power if you give them room to move.

The purpose of rebirth is “that we might be a kind of first-fruits of all He created”. In Old Testament times, the first-fruits of the Harvest were set apart especially for God to use. In the same way, God wants me for Himself, for His work and His purposes. Don’t know about you, but I would like to take up the legacy of my Father’s genes, presenting myself for His service and use. The alternative - dabbling in denial and lining myself up for death – simply doesn’t compare.

Cheers for now - Ian