Shiny Sin

One of my favorite books is Where the Red Fern Grows. It is a tender story of a boy and his hunting dogs and their love for each other. In chapter 7, Billy needs to trap a raccoon for its hide so he can begin training his dogs to be proper hunters. Trapping a raccoon is no easy feat, and his grandfather shows him an old hillbilly trick. Put something shiny in a hole that the raccoon can reach in to grab. Once the paw is closed around the object, the animal cannot pull 

Bonnie Piovesan

it back out of the hole unless the object is released. In the book, this is how Billy gets his raccoon hide, but the trap was so upsetting to Billy that he vows never to use it again.

If you have ever had a loved one trapped by some harmful habit, then you probably understand how Billy felt. There is the helpless creature trapped because they won’t let go of their shiny prize, wailing from misery. In my life, I have had many things I would not let go of even though they caused me pain and even destruction. I have had the sad burden of watching loved ones trapped in addictions and horrible life choices, and at times it feels like all I can do is stand by and watch them wail in misery. 

So often the misery we have in life is the result of sin. Sins we have committed or sins that have been committed against us. We can have many debates on what is sinful, but perhaps a discussion on what sin is might serve us better for the moment. 

Sin looks shiny. 

Sin says “this is good”, “you deserve it”, “take all you want.” A little while later, Sin changes the conversation and says, “it’s not that bad”, “everyone else is doing the same or worse”, “you can stop or change anytime you want.” Then, much quicker, Sin drastically changes the conversation: “So what if it’s bad? Do you think you are better than this?” “No one else will forgive what you have done”, “why bother trying to stop, and you couldn’t even if you wanted to.” 

It is somewhere in this place that Sin reveals what it truly is: a trap. 

When someone is caught in a trap, they need someone outside of themselves to get free. Perhaps one of the reasons the Bible refers to sin as a trap is to lead us to the idea of a Rescuer. Sin is a powerful, crafty enemy bent on destruction, and what is needed is someone more powerful than sin. What we need is Jesus. 

Jesus knows we are trapped; He can see our suffering; it is the very reason He came to live among us. Out of compassion, Jesus gets real honest with us and asks the simple question, “What are you holding on to?” Then He begins speaking truth without belittling the human soul. Jesus bids us to lay down our burdens and take hold of something better, His hand. When we drop our shiny sins and take hold of Jesus, we find true freedom. 

Those of us who have let go and taken hold of Jesus know that sin is still waiting around trying to entice us with some new version of shiny delight. Because we are still human, we sometimes take hold of sin thinking we can play around a little, or sometimes we don’t even realize we have fallen into sin’s trap. Each time, Jesus lovingly comes along and reminds us of the truth until we are willing to let go. Once we let go, Jesus takes hold of our hand to walk in freedom once again. 

So much of the Christian life is Jesus teaching us how to be free. Free from the traps of sin, free to worship, free to live and hope once again. 

As one believer to another, what are you holding on to today? 

In His Name, Bonnie