CONQUERING BESETTING SINS.
He who makes excuses for them will never overcome them. The first thing is to admit that they are sins and must be conquered, that to overcome them will involve a severe struggle, and that this struggle can not succeed without divine help. In other words, face the facts if you expect to make any headway in conquering your besetting sins. Then do whatever is possible in the way of strengthening the will. This is easier with some than with others. It is possible to all. Earnest reflection, the realization of what any sin is in God’s sight, and of the peculiar mischievousness of the special form of sin in question, and the resolution to be ready for it hereafter, and to resist it—these furnish strength of will. They confirm the purpose and resolve not to yield. Furthermore, victory involves beginning again after failure. It is possible, of course, not to fail, yet nine times out of ten failure occurs before long, and is more discouraging because of the special effort to overcome which has been made. But it is a part of the discipline of character to go thru the experience of failing and trying again. We ought not to fail, but when we do fail we must not be disheartened, but pray for divine forgiveness and help, and face the struggle before us with determination greater than ever, and with an affectionate trust in our heavenly Father more intense than ever. No one can conquer besetting sins in his own strength. Let this be distinctly understood. Whether one be a Christian by profession or not, it is equally true, and the whole history of Christianity has proved it, that no one ever succeeds in overcoming the sin which besets him except as he depends upon and follows the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is Christ who wins the battle in us and thru us. We are His soldiers in the fight against our sins, but we can not fight even in His cause by ourselves. We must have and must realize the co-operation of His Spirit. Besetting sins are among the most enticing. They would not be besetting sins unless they were. Whatever their form, they have a grip on us which we never fully realize till we try to cast them off. Trifling altho they may sometimes seem, as we first face them, we soon learn that our relation to them is that of real, terrible bondage. If we are to live Christian lives in any true sense, to know anything of the happiness, freedom, and usefulness of true followers of Christ, it can only be as we consecrate ourselves without reservation to the struggle which begins when we first learn what Christ is like, and continues till our last breath,—the struggle to overcome, in His name and for His sake, the sin which doth so easily beset us.—The Congregationalist.