Fighting the Battle Against Sin

Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men

1. Why do you think Jesus used such strong language in describing our battle against sin?

2. What do you think it means to lose our “saltiness” as Catholic men?

3. God has not left us on our own to fight the battle against sin. What “weapons” has he given us?

4. What steps can you take to more effectively use these weapons to fight the daily battle against sin?

5. If you are in a men’s group, implement these steps and share the results at your next men’s group meeting.

In the previous article in the Catholic Man Channel, Winning the Battle for the Mind, the various ways we can win this battle were discussed. This article will discuss the battle against sin that we fight every day, as we endeavor to be faithful to who we are as children of God. The article is an adaptation of the May 19, 2005 meditation in The Word Among Us magazine.

Mark 9:43-50

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where “the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”

Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Keep salt in yourselves, and you will have peace with one another.

Did Jesus mean we should literally cut off a hand or gouge out an eye to avoid sinning? Well, the New Testament records no instances of such mutilations by any of his first followers. Those who heard Jesus’ words apparently understood them as hyperbole, deliberate exaggerations Jesus used to convey his point. In fact, such a way of speaking was common to first-century Jews.

So what did Jesus mean? Simply that sin has the power to drag us down and that we should do everything we can to avoid it. It dulls us and dishonors the life of God in us. What’s worse, it dilutes our ability to receive the power and fruits of the Holy Spirit in us, causing us to lose our “saltiness” (Mark 9:50).

We know that if we do sin, we have only to turn to the Lord, acknowledge our sin, repent, and we will receive God’s forgiveness.

“If we say, ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing” (1 John 1:8-9).

Of course, we experience this forgiveness most powerfully in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as we confess and repent of our sins. But repentance is what we do after we have sinned. What should we do beforehand so that we don’t sin in the first place? That’s the issue Jesus raised: our necessary, and practical, efforts to avoid sin. A good place to begin is by knowing what causes us to fall, which means looking hard at ourselves every day. The better we know ourselves, the clearer we will be on the steps we need to take. Take, for example, Venerable Matt Talbot — an alcoholic who learned how to face his weaknesses practically. One of his strategies was to never carry money in his pocket as he walked to and from work. With no means to buy himself a drink, he “cut off” what had once been his lifeblood.

Each one of us can find such practical ways to combat sin in our daily lives. And, if a practical strategy isn’t apparent, we have only to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. God wants us to be free from slavery to sin. In fact, he has given us many spiritual weapons and the full armor of God to fight the battle against sin.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests (Ephesians 6:13-18).

He wants us to keep salt in ourselves. And so he is committed to helping us find the right balance between relying solely on our own strength and waiting passively for some miraculous deliverance. He will give us his supernatural grace as we come to him in prayer, make a plan, and strive to implement it.

Holy Spirit, I want to break with sin in my life. Help me to find practical ways to cut off whatever causes me to offend you, so that I might be salt in your kingdom, today and always.

(This article, adapted comes from the May 19, 2005 meditation from The Word Among Us magazine, is used with permission. You may e-mail the NFCM at info@nfcmusa.org or visit the NFCM website.)

Reflection Questions on Page 2