Death Comes in Slow Drips
I have an affection for coffee that stems back to childhood. One of my grandmothers used to sip sweet, creamy coffee from a faded red plastic coffee mug. Even just a few drops of lukewarm coffee from the top of her mug were a welcome treat when I was a little guy. That began my love for a rich, creamy cup of steaming java.
Most days, I go through my coffee-making routine without much consciousness of what I’m doing, but one day I noticed something that probably drives my wife insane. I find it nearly impossible to make coffee without leaving a trail of brown drops behind me. No matter the brewing method, I can’t seem to keep from dripping coffee on the counter, the kitchen table, or wherever I land with my next cup of Joe.
What if I simply decided to leave them? For better and worse and sickness and health, and all that, right? A few drops of coffee aren’t such a big deal after all. Most people would never notice them unless they were looking. A spilled cup of coffee would get your attention, but a few drops are harmless. It seems that way, at least.
Demas and the Slow Drip of Sin
Demas looked the part of a true servant of Christ. After something of a conversion experience, he decided to lay his life down for the cause of Christ and give himself to the work of a missionary. Heeding the call to make disciples of all nations, he somehow got linked up with a daring, well-known persecutor turned missionary—Saul of Tarsus. Demas didn’t just seek sound doctrine, he sought to serve in partnership with Mark, Luke, and others to spread the name and fame of Christ throughout the world.
Over time, however, Demas began wondering about an easier, more comfortable life. Perhaps he dreamed of having more money. Maybe he longed to settle down and live a normal life. Another life appealed to Demas so much that his thoughts sometimes drifted toward the possibilities of jumping ship and trying something else. He didn’t notice, but sinful thoughts were dripping from his cup more and more as the days progressed.
“Each time a sinful, worldly thought dripped in his heart, he began to justify it.”
He’d shake the thoughts and get back to work, but something was changing deep inside Demas’s heart, and it wasn’t for the good of his soul. Each time a sinful, worldly thought dripped in his heart, he began to justify it. Rather than run to the Advocate and confess his sin, he let it slide because it was just a tough season. It wasn’t such a big deal.
Then it happened. He fell “in love with this present world” and deserted Paul (2 Tim. 4:10). While there is some debate as to whether Demas was an apostate or not, the fact remains: Demas chose sin instead of supporting Paul in the work of the ministry. Falling in love doesn’t happen in an instant. Demas chose to dwell on the world day by day, drip by drip, until he made the decision to walk away.
Every Drop Matters
Lest we turn up our noses and look down upon Demas, let us not neglect to see that our hearts are deceitful too. We can be tempted to think of sin like little drops of coffee on the counter each morning. A drip of anger here and a drop of pride there don’t seem like much; surely the path to destruction would feel much more drastic, right? But just as a few drops of coffee eventually become a huge mess on the counter, our sin can gradually destroy our lives.
A few drops of lust today could add up to an affair next year. A couple of drops of envy tomorrow might add up to a severed friendship next month. A drop or two of ignoring your spouse today can lead to a nasty divorce when the kids graduate and head to college. Just as our greatest seasons of spiritual growth are usually the result of small, daily victories, our greatest moral failures follow seasons of quiet, frequent compromise.
In the powerful little book On Mortification of Sin, John Owen speaks of the hardening deceitfulness of sin:
Every time sin rises to tempt or entice, it always seeks to express itself in the extreme. Every unclean thought or glance would be adultery if it could; every covetous desire would be oppression; and every unbelieving thought would be atheism. It is like the grave that is never satisfied. In this we see the deceitfulness of sin. It gradually prevails to harden a man’s heart to his ruin (Heb. 3:13). (Owen, John. The Mortification of Sin. [Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2016], 8)
“Every drop of sin wants to become a bottomless, overflowing cup of death in our hearts. ”
In other words, every drop of sin wants to become a bottomless, overflowing cup of death in our hearts. This is why the author of Hebrews urges us to exhort one another daily that we may not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:13). A bad eating habit today can lead to diabetes and obesity tomorrow. A little bit of daily sin adds up to a lifestyle of death. In a culture of instant gratification, we must choose the long game, and not lose sight of the eternal significance of every little bit of sin that shows up in our hearts.
Death comes in slow drips. Our children get exasperated little by little as they endure patterns and seasons of angry parenting. Bank accounts dwindle as we add more iPhones, movie subscriptions, and books we don’t have time to read. Porn addictions start with a few extra seconds of lingering, clicking, and Tik-Tok watching. The list could go on.
Where are you dripping right now? What are the pet sins of omission or commission that show up in your heart and mind but maybe not in your actions yet? What sinful habits are you developing today that you know you’ll regret tomorrow? Don’t just let the drops keep building up.
Keep Running Back to Jesus
Though death comes in slow drips, we have a Savior who overcame sin and death by nailing it to the cross. Too often, we try to clean up our messes with sopping wet, dirty rags, but we end up making the mess worse than when we started. We need Someone far better to clean up our messes. We need Jesus.
Through Christ, the crimson stain of our sin has been washed white as snow, and we are being adorned with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus. As we abide in Christ, we enjoy his presence more deeply and despise sin with more bitter hatred. Each time we dip into his presence, his Word, and the fellowship of his body, we become more like him. As we adore our glorious Savior, seek his heavenly Father, and walk by his Holy Spirit, the grip of indwelling sin melts away from our hearts.
When we sin deliberately, we live with a fearful expectation of judgment (Heb. 10:26–27), but as we fight to put sin to death, we lose that fear and walk in the hope of our salvation. We don’t labor in our own strength, and we don’t labor in vain. And by God’s grace, we won’t drip ourselves to death; he will carry us to the end (2 Tim. 4:18, Phil. 1:6).
Chrys Jones (@chrys_jones) is a husband and father of four. He is a pastoral resident at Grace Church in Danville, KY, and he writes regularly at dwellwithchrist.com. Chrys is also a Christian Hip-Hop artist and producer for Christcentric.