As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

…He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Mark 10:17, 22 (3-3-11)

Ran and fell on his knees. The dude was desperate. Like all of us, he was a slave to his sin.

He had a choice. Renounce what enslaved him–in his case, his possessions. Or stay a slave. And after confronting his choice, even in his desperation, he returned to his slavery. He went away sad, but he went away.

Right now, the news is all about a celebrity. He apparently went on an alcohol, drug and sex bender. And when he was finished, instead of renouncing his slavery, he announced he was embracing it. Reveling in it.

Returning to his chains.

The rich man in this story did the same thing, except he walked sadly back into the arms of his master, materialism.

While we may not embrace our slavery like the celebrity or walk knowingly back to it like this young man, too often we do let it creep back into our lives. Our sins re-engage, re-entangle, and eventually re-enslave us if we don’t continuously renounce them and stay desperately aware of how we are without Jesus.

[Father, help me to stay desperate and constantly renounce the sin that so easily entangles me.]