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6th November: The Slippery Slope

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. Hebrews 3:12 (NIV)

There is one thing we must constantly guard against -- allowing our hearts to slide into sin and unbelief. There are a thousand subtle ways in which we may be enticed away from the living God. The pressures on our time, the constant drain on our physical and emotional energy, academic interest, the excitement of involvement in medical practice, all easily lead to our guard being dropped and our hearts wandering away from the path of righteousness, and our love for God grows cold.

It is comparatively easy to maintain an organised intellectual framework of belief, and to give the impression of a continuing godly life, but these are no substitutes for a heart that longs for communion with God. The first stage in that insidious slide is the turning of our heart away from him, for, as our Lord taught, sin is primarily a matter of the heart. A heart that is not right with God leads to a life that is `dead' toward him, even though a facade of obedience remains. We cannot stay in this half-stage for long; either we fail in our obedience and openly indulge in sin, or by God's grace we are forgiven and restored to a living communion with him.

God's word here teaches us that ours is the responsibility of maintaining our heart's warmth towards him, `See to it, brothers...' How are we to `see to it'? The example of the apostolic church cannot be bettered. `They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer' (Acts 2:42). These are the means of maintaining a living faith, and we need them as much today as they needed them then.

O God, preserve us from the deceitfulness of sin
that subtly creeps into our lives and causes our hearts
to become hardened towards you. Give us today hearts
that are dead to sin but alive to God, delighting in your word
and assured of your presence. Enable us to serve you with glad
and joyful hearts for Jesus' sake.

Further reading: Rom 6:11-23. Heb 3:1-15.

JHCM