There are a few little phrases I think about and repeat to myself on a regular basis. One of the simplest but most frequent is this: You will never regret the sins you do not commit. It’s basic. It’s easy. It’s obvious. But I need to hear it again and again. Like you, I know that dreadful sick-to-my-stomach feeling that follows a sin, and especially one of those sins I am particularly committed to battling and overcoming. Though I had promised myself that I would never again commit that sin, though I had prayed for the Lord’s help, and though I had addressed the pattern of temptation and attempted to nip it in the bud, still I had caved and blundered into it once again. And I understood: I failed to take hold of the grace the Holy Spirit offered in that very moment of temptation. I sinned only because I chose to sin, only because I wanted to sin, only because sin was more attractive to me in that moment than righteousness. And so I know the flush of heat that creeps up my neck and over my face, the sweat that beads on my forehead when I acknowledge that, yes, I did it again. I know the deep feeling of failure and am familiar with having to go before the Lord to confess it again and to admit that I’m far more of a spiritual infant than I care to admit. I know the sense of disappointment in myself and the necessary hardship … Continue reading You Will Never Regret The Sins You Do Not Commit