I'm Not Touching You

Do you remember the commercial where a young girl is complaining to her parents that her brother is touching her?  Of course, her brother says, "I'm not touching her," all the while his finger is just a fraction of an inch away from her skin.  After all, since one was not actually touching the other, nothing wrong was being done, right?

Tragically, some Christians treat sin the same way these two siblings did. That is, they consciously draw closer and closer to sin without actually committing the sin.

This "I'm not touching you" attitude toward sin is an extremely dangerous attitude, and the Bible provides us with an excellent example showing how one man learned this lesson the hard way.

In the thirteenth chapter of Genesis, Abraham allowed Lot to choose the land that he would use for his flocks and herds. In Genesis 13:11, Lot chose the plain of Jordan upon which the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah stood, and he journeyed east. The final result of Lot moving closer and closer to sin and wickedness is that he lost his wife, other family members, and all that he had when the Lord destroyed the cities of the plain. Lot, a man who was once quite well off, was reduced to living in fear and dwelling in caves.

Although Lot was not actually "touching" (i.e., committing) the sin and wickedness found within Sodom, he caused great misery for himself by placing his family so close to sinful people.

Instead of seeing how close we can get to sin, we should heed the words of the Apostle Paul written to the church at Thessalonica, "Abstain from every form of evil" (I Thessalonians 5:22). For some this may be hard, but if we want to avoid a fate worse than Lot we must flee sin--not play with it.

—Paul