OK…the title was total clickbait, but since it worked, hear me out. Every saint is in a battle with sin. Sure, every human being is a sinner, but to be a saint is to be at war. We are called to put to death the deeds of the flesh. And every day we face off. We hear the whispered lies in our minds. We feel the fleshly urges from our desires. We sense the tug toward self-centered living and know the pull of the cultural current around us. It is a fight, and perhaps we’ve lost our grit in that fight, or maybe just feel like it is a fight we are outmatched in. 

Paul tells us that the devil has his schemes (Ephesians 6:11), and I know we have our armor, but do we have our strategies? Our game plan? Our playbook? And in our playbook, is there room for any trick plays? Everyone loves a good trick play. The fake reverse, the hook and ladder, the fleaflicker, the fumbleroosky. Used in the right moments, these plays can be very effective and will no doubt always make tomorrow's highlight reel. Well, what about in our fight with sin? Let me tell you about one of my trick plays. It is a creative use of the belt of truth. 

My friend, Mark Arant, wrote a book titled The Advantage of Average. It is an excellent book I recommend reading, perhaps the best book on promoting being average that you will ever read or probably ever find. In his book, Mark gives an illustration of someone standing in front of the Grand Canyon and yelling, “I’m a big deal!” The thought of that is a bit ridiculous, which is the point. To stand before something so big and remarkable and profess your own greatness brings the foolishness of such a thought front and center. And more so, actually saying it out loud makes it even more ridiculous. Sure, those thoughts may stay safe in our heads, unexposed, left to whisper in our minds, but actually vocalizing them out in the open causes them to die in the light. It’s like discovering the person you’ve been having those private, inappropriate chats with online is not a struggling young actress in L.A., but actually a middle-aged, overweight man still in his pajamas eating pizza in his parents’ basement in Milwaukee. Knowing that kills the mood.

Fighting sin is often about killing the mood. Lies have presented us with a narrative that promises to deliver happiness, fulfillment, satisfaction, approval—apart from God—and it sounds so promising. That man in Milwaukee knows just what to say…if only we could get a good look at him, though. This is a perfect opportunity for a clever trick play. Something the enemy might not expect. He knows all the comebacks and is prepared with a new lie for each one. But what if we gave him something he wasn’t ready for? A little misdirection. 

What if we didn’t refute the lie in the privacy of our own minds, but instead brought the lie itself out into the open? Just like proclaiming you're a big deal in front of the Grand Canyon exposes the foolishness of such a thought, sometimes lies need to be spoken out loud to lose their appeal. 

Try it.

• “Money is more fulfilling than God!”

• “Nice vacations will bring me greater happiness than God can give me!”

Come on, say it like you mean it.

• “Naked women are better than God!”

• “A promotion is a greater status than being a child of God!” 

Louder.

• “What I want for me is better than what God wants for me!” 

• “Retirement will be better than heaven!”

Now I can understand why someone might never want even to say such things, but actually vocalizing the lie exposes its foolishness. It turns that seductive private chat with Tiffany from L.A. into a video call with Harold from Milwaukee.

In fighting sin, don’t just throw truth at the lies that lurk safely in the dark—bring those lies into the light. They are far less attractive when exposed, and speaking them out loud is a way to hear just how foolish they are. You may have to say it a few times and repeat the foolishness, but a regenerate heart will recognize its ridiculousness. And what was once tempting will become repulsive in the next moment. The mood will change.

Church, I am so thankful that the battle over sin is won not in our victories over temptation, but through Christ's victory over sin. But it is that very victory that equips us to fight the sin in our lives as worship to our Savior. So let’s indeed put it to death, and when necessary, pull out some trick plays to do so.