The Center of Your Hula Hoop

"For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." — James 3:16

Do you know what sin really is?

The Bible tells us that we are born with a sin nature. If you don't understand the sin nature, just look at a two-year-old child. They don't share their toys without a fight. Their world is focused on their hula hoop.

Everything inside that hula hoop is theirs. My toys. My snacks. My mommy. My attention. Me, me, me.

We laugh at toddlers acting this way because we expect it. But here's the uncomfortable truth: We never really outgrow it. We just get more sophisticated at hiding it.

Sin is self-focused. It is rebellion against a holy God. We want our way, we want what we want, when we want it, and how we want it. We also want a whole lot of it.

That's the definition of sin—putting yourself at the center instead of God.

Think about the sins you struggle with most. Trace them back far enough, and you'll find self at the root. Pride—self-exaltation. Greed—self-accumulation. Lust—self-gratification. Anger—self-protection. Lying—self-preservation.

Every sin, at its core, is choosing self over God and others.

This is why we are broken people because of our sin. This is why we need a Savior. We can't fix ourselves because the problem is ourselves.

Jesus said, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). Deny self. That's the opposite of sin. That's the cure for what's wrong with us.

Stop defending your hula hoop. Stop demanding that everything revolve around you. Stop making decisions based solely on what benefits you.

Die to self. Live for Christ. That's where freedom begins.

The center of your life was never meant to be you. It was meant to be Him.