Owen believed the only way to rid yourself of sin is to hate,
rather than love, that which tempts you. How do you hate
something that at one time you loved (and maybe still love a
little bit)? John Owen contended that hating and shaming and
exposing sin is the secret to getting rid of it for good. 5 Rather
than minimizing or rationalizing or calling it a bad habit, call sin
what it is in your life: sin!
Practically speaking, because it is easier to forgo or forget
the need to come clean with God and others, most of us need
something to remind or prompt us to pursue it.
Perhaps it isn’t so surprising that God prompted me—a
recovering alcoholic, a previously sexually immoral young
woman, someone with a pretty volatile temper and competitive
nature—to include near the very beginning of my
conversations with God a section called Admit, where I come
clean with Him every single day. God knew that I would need
to purposely set aside a time and a place where He and I
honestly evaluated and assessed the previous twenty-four
hours of my life. Every day when I turn to the Admit tab and
see a blank page, I hear God ask me, “What has been tempting
you? Where are you falling short? Are you returning to old
patterns or hiding something from me or from those closest to
you?” And every day He waits for me to answer these or
similar questions. (This section provides me with a daily
“intentional listening” exercise.)
Recently, I’ve read a number of the classic books written on
the subjects of sin and its counterpoint: holiness. In Real
Christianity, William Wilberforce spoke as if to convince
others, saying, “Common to all [believers] is the desire for
holiness.” 6 With each passing generation since he wrote these