Devotions from John Ortberg’s book, The Me I Want to Be

Sin is a word not often thought about seriously in our day. But sin is a deadly force to us because it takes us out of the flow of the Spirit.  Sin keeps us from becoming the person God wants us to become. All other challenges face us from the outside. Sin works its way inside, strangling our soul.  Our particular sin doesn’t look quite the same in anyone else as it does is us. Our sin pattern is unique to us.
Temptation rarely begins by trying to get us to do something that is 180 degrees in the opposite direction of our values. It is something more subtle that just pulls us a few degrees off course. But it is enough to disrupt the flow of the Spirit in our lives.  Our life has a signature sin which is based on certain patterns, relationships, temperaments, and gifts that are unique to us.  Certain temptations may be appealing to me but not especially to you.  “WE also live in a spiritual environment and leave a sin footprint, which damages our spiritual environment.”

The area of our gifts and passions indicate the areas of our vulnerability. Extroverts who can encourage others are prone to gossip. Good listeners may be passive enablers. People who love to learn are tempted to feel superior etc.

It is good for us to know our signature pattern of sin because we are most vulnerable when we lack self-awareness. Otherwise we go around taking the speck out of our brother’s eye when we have a log in our own.  Knowing our own sin pattern also helps us know what we need most to become spiritually alive. And knowing other people’s patterns can help us live in community better for we are more patient with them.

When we know ourselves and each other, we can walk in love and be free to be the best version of ourselves – God’s hand-signed version of ourselves!