For a long time, one of the greatest temptations I faced in life was curiosity directed towards sin. While I didn’t always seek out sin, I did seek out sinful curiosity too often. It was easy to justify this curiosity because I always told myself that I would stop just short of crossing into sinful territory. I still remember the excuses I would tell myself (among so many others): “I’ll stop before it gets too bad”, “I wonder what’s new?”, “It’s just a quick glance” or “It’s not that bad, I’ve seen worse.” I had set my boundaries so loose that no matter how many times I violated those boundaries, I still did not see curiosity directed towards sin as something to shun.
I started to see victory in this area of my life when I was willing to recognize that curiosity towards sin comes with its own set of lies. Lies that try to convince me that there will be minimal consequences, if any at all. Lies that say no one will get hurt as long as no one knows. Lies that say I am strong enough to stop, even though history reminded me that I rarely did. Lies that would somehow, in some way justify the curious exploration of sin. Curiosity about areas that are on the borderline of sin will eventually lead you to areas which are blatantly sinful.
While we can agree that curiosity in and of itself is not bad, I would like you to see that where you direct your curiosity will determine the path on which you will go down. You may tell yourself, “Curiosity didn’t lead to sin this time.” However, your goal as a believer isn’t to see how many times you can snuggle up to sin without sinning. The truth is that while curiosity may not lead to sin this time, it most definitely will at some point. Genesis 4:7 is a good reminder for all of us:
“If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
If you are currently struggling in this area, I pray you find strength and guidance in these beautiful and encouraging verses found in the Psalms.
“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.”
Psalm 119:9
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
Psalm 119:105
It is never too late to leave unholy curiosity at the foot of the cross – the perfect and only place to leave it.
End of article.