A Devious Repentance
Elisabeth Elliot shares her personal struggle with thoughtlessness and pride, highlighting the importance of genuine repentance and humility.
Elisabeth Elliot reflects on the struggle of dealing with sin, particularly the pride that can accompany our repentance. She acknowledges the deceptive nature of Satan and how easily we can fall into the trap of focusing on our reputation rather than genuine remorse for our actions. Elliot emphasizes the need for a sincere and humble heart in seeking forgiveness and transformation through Jesus.
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Recently I committed a sin of what seemed to me unpardonable thoughtlessness. For days I wanted to kick myself around the block. What is the matter with me? I thought. How could I have acted so? "Fret not thyself because of evildoers" came to mind. In this case the evildoer was myself, and I was fretting. My fretting, I discovered, was a subtle kind of pride. "I'm really not that sort of person," I was saying. I did not want to be thought of as that sort of person. I was very sorry for what I had done, not primarily because I had failed someone I loved, but because my reputation would be smudged. When my reputation becomes my chief concern, my repentance has a hollow ring. No wonder Satan is called the deceiver.
He has a thousand tricks, and we fall for them.
Lord, I confess my sin of thoughtlessness and my sin of pride. I pray for a more loving and a purer heart, for Jesus' sake.
Sermon Outline
- The Sin of Thoughtlessness
- The Sin of Pride
- Repentance and Humility
- Confessing sin
- Seeking a pure heart
Key Quotes
“Fret not thyself because of evildoers” — Elisabeth Elliot
“When my reputation becomes my chief concern, my repentance has a hollow ring.” — Elisabeth Elliot
“Lord, I confess my sin of thoughtlessness and my sin of pride.” — Elisabeth Elliot
Application Points
- We should be more concerned with genuinely changing our ways than with maintaining a good reputation.
- Pride can lead us into sin and make our repentance seem hollow.
- We should pray for a more loving and pure heart in our repentance.