“Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Genesis 4:6-7
When I read this Scripture, I am reminded of a patient who was referred to me for breast cancer. I can never forget her. She was a professor at the local university, mid-fifties, articulate, but strangely aloof, and alone. It was unusual for cancer patients to have no one with them. I inquired if the patient knew why her physician referred her for a surgical consultation. “I have a sore on my breast.”, she replied dryly. When I asked which side, she only gestured to the left while turning her face away to the right. No prior mammogram. No family history. Was there any pain? “No pain. Just this foul-smelling drainage that I have had to use deodorant pads to overcome the stench.” My nurse prepared her for examination.
On exam, she consistently ignored the left side of her body. Her breast exam on the left revealed an open ulcerated cancer, that was also associated with with a deeper underlying mass. Her axillary lymph nodes were also clinically enlarged.
Needless to say, neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy for this advanced breast cancer was required , before any surgery could be performed on this patient. It did not have to be. A screening mammogram ten years ago could have saved this patient a whole heap of trouble .
Sin is like cancer. It begins at the microscopic level, with a renegade cell that lives as if the rules of cellular border integrity do not apply to it. It is as if the brakes regulating new growth are non-functional and we have a runaway cell on our hands, invading, disrupting with the resultant chaos of bodily function . Pretending that we are not vulnerable, like our patient, is hazardous to our health, and can lead to our death.
As a surgeon, I viewed cancer as the enemy, and I allied with my patients to fight it to the end. In over 40 years of practicing medicine and surgery, I have never had a patient say to me, “Can’t you just leave a little piece of the cancer behind as a souvenir, for old times sake?” On the contrary, they want it gone! They want it out of there!
Sin behaves the same way. It starts out benignly enough. “ Crouching at your door…”. Writes Dr. Anna Lembke in her book, Dopamine Nation; “The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation.” From gambling to gaming to texting to sexting …”…It desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
The problem will not go away by trying to ignore it, like our patient attempted to do. It will only get larger , and break through to the surface where it will be impossible to hide the ugly effect and leave a stench on our character and soul. When you have had enough of home-remedies like the endless books on Self-Help, at long last you will finally seek out The Great Physician for definitive treatment.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
Call on Him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
And the unrighteous their thoughts,
Let them turn to the Lord, and He will
Have mercy on them,
And to our God, for He will freely pardon.”
Isaiah 55:7
And as we grow in love with this great God, we will to grow love the things He loves and hate the things He hates. As the Scripture says in Jude; “Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” Jude 22-23
As we come to the Communion table, remembering the bread (His Body) and the wine (His Blood) that our Great Physician has provided for our redemption and healing, let us ally ourselves with Him “til He shall put all enemies under His feet.” 1Cor.15:25
Questions to Think About
Genesis 4:6-7
When I read this Scripture, I am reminded of a patient who was referred to me for breast cancer. I can never forget her. She was a professor at the local university, mid-fifties, articulate, but strangely aloof, and alone. It was unusual for cancer patients to have no one with them. I inquired if the patient knew why her physician referred her for a surgical consultation. “I have a sore on my breast.”, she replied dryly. When I asked which side, she only gestured to the left while turning her face away to the right. No prior mammogram. No family history. Was there any pain? “No pain. Just this foul-smelling drainage that I have had to use deodorant pads to overcome the stench.” My nurse prepared her for examination.
On exam, she consistently ignored the left side of her body. Her breast exam on the left revealed an open ulcerated cancer, that was also associated with with a deeper underlying mass. Her axillary lymph nodes were also clinically enlarged.
Needless to say, neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy for this advanced breast cancer was required , before any surgery could be performed on this patient. It did not have to be. A screening mammogram ten years ago could have saved this patient a whole heap of trouble .
Sin is like cancer. It begins at the microscopic level, with a renegade cell that lives as if the rules of cellular border integrity do not apply to it. It is as if the brakes regulating new growth are non-functional and we have a runaway cell on our hands, invading, disrupting with the resultant chaos of bodily function . Pretending that we are not vulnerable, like our patient, is hazardous to our health, and can lead to our death.
As a surgeon, I viewed cancer as the enemy, and I allied with my patients to fight it to the end. In over 40 years of practicing medicine and surgery, I have never had a patient say to me, “Can’t you just leave a little piece of the cancer behind as a souvenir, for old times sake?” On the contrary, they want it gone! They want it out of there!
Sin behaves the same way. It starts out benignly enough. “ Crouching at your door…”. Writes Dr. Anna Lembke in her book, Dopamine Nation; “The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation.” From gambling to gaming to texting to sexting …”…It desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
The problem will not go away by trying to ignore it, like our patient attempted to do. It will only get larger , and break through to the surface where it will be impossible to hide the ugly effect and leave a stench on our character and soul. When you have had enough of home-remedies like the endless books on Self-Help, at long last you will finally seek out The Great Physician for definitive treatment.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
Call on Him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
And the unrighteous their thoughts,
Let them turn to the Lord, and He will
Have mercy on them,
And to our God, for He will freely pardon.”
Isaiah 55:7
And as we grow in love with this great God, we will to grow love the things He loves and hate the things He hates. As the Scripture says in Jude; “Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” Jude 22-23
As we come to the Communion table, remembering the bread (His Body) and the wine (His Blood) that our Great Physician has provided for our redemption and healing, let us ally ourselves with Him “til He shall put all enemies under His feet.” 1Cor.15:25
Questions to Think About
- Do you want sin “gone completely”, or are you holding on to certain areas out of comfort or fear?
- How important is it to be in community and allow others to help you address spiritual issues rather than trying to handle them in isolation?
Posted in The Fatal Neglect of Sin