Under the Radar

Last night at Bible Study, our teaching leader made the point that it is dangerous to deliberately sin with the intention to confess and ask forgiveness later.

I recall a season of the television show "Survivor" years ago where the woman (who eventually won, I believe) was as nasty as she could be to so many of the people on the island, and yet she regularly claimed Christianity. (I am in no way acting as the judge of her heart, as only the Lord knows.) What I do remember is how people I know who are skeptical of Christianity to begin with were even more turned off to things of God because of this woman's very public attitude. She outright told the cameras that it was okay for her to backstab people because she could confess and be forgiven when she returned home.

So I got to thinking...in my job, working with various buildings and administrators, each having different "rules", how my attitude can be just as cavalier. Because I float between buildings, I can fly under the radar. It is easy for me to claim ignorance to the rules of a particular building, and I have often uttered the phrase, "It's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission."

And so, I sit here convicted that this attitude is not a good representation of what God wants the world to see. Next time I want to "stretch" the rules, I need to remember that while it may be easier to beg forgiveness, the right thing to do is to ask permission.