Plant a Banana Tree.

Sunday morning I ate a banana as I drove to church. When I finished the banana I thought what am I going to do with this banana peel because I don't want to hold on to it for the drive to church. Not wanting to litter or reenact a scene from Billy Madison, I knew I couldn't throw it out the window. But for a moment the idea to toss it in the weeds along a vacant piece of property did cross my mind. The next thought that caught me off guard was the fact that I thought to my self, "Just say, 'Plant a banana tree' and it will be okay." Now that sounds like an odd phrase to say and I admit it is, but I can't take credit for coming up with it. When I was a kid I had a cousin who was 10 years older than me and I remember riding with her in her car. On more than one occasion I remember not having a place to put some piece of trash or apple core or banana peel and she said if you toss it out the window and say "Plant a banana tree" then it's not really littering. In the mind of a kid it sounded legit, so out the window went my trash. My parents quickly fixed this bad habit, but I couldn't believe that after nearly 30 years this phrase came to mind when I thought about tossing something out the window of my truck. In any case, I laid the banana peel down in the truck and tossed it in the trash at church.

As a kid I thought that I could rationalize my littering by saying a simple phrase as I committed the act. The act of trying to rationalize actions that we shouldn't do, let's call them sins, has been around forever. Man has always found a way of rationalizing his sin so he doesn't feel so bad about it. We do it to make our sin more palatable to us and so we become desensitized to it and can move on with our lives without the guilt. The problem is sin is sin. Regardless of whether we try to justify or rationalize our sin, sin is still sin. The old phrase that comes to mind is "You can put lipstick on a pig but its still a pig." Dress it up however you want, sin is still sin. Regulate it. Legislate it. Gain society's approval of it. Sweep it under your own spiritual rug and it doesn't change the fact that you're sinning. Pick the sin that you rationalize on a daily basis and realize that your rationalization doesn't hold water with God.

The problem with rationalizing our sin is not just that we become desensitized to something that should bring repentance. The problem is that as we justify and rationalize our sin, we don't seek forgiveness for that sin because we view it as acceptable. When we don't seek forgiveness for our sins, then a spiritual gap widens between us and God. We become less sensitive to His Holy Spirit's leading in our life. Our hearts harden towards God and it makes us more vulnerable and susceptible to more sin in our life. In the end, we end up distancing ourselves from the one who has the cure for our sin problem. We end up distancing ourselves from the one who loves us unconditionally. We distance ourselves from the victorious life He wants us to experience.

1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Right here God tells us in His Word that no matter what sin we commit, even the ones we rationalize and grow accustomed to committing, He will still forgive us. Choose today the sin you find yourself rationalizing and come to grips with the reality of what you're doing. See your sin the way God does, as something you ought to avoid at all costs. Seek His forgiveness for your sin and seek His help to rid your life of that sin. It won't be easy but in the end you'll be glad that you did.


If you enjoyed today's post be sure to Share it on Facebook and Twitter so others can be encouraged too.