Daring to Dally

John Owen was a preacher in centuries passed (1616-1683), but don't worry, he's still relevant. Here's a quote I found today: "Know that he that dares to dally with occasions of sin will dare to sin. He that will venture upon temptations unto wickedness will venture upon wickedness." Here's the point. If you're willing to mess around with temptation, then you're equally willing to mess around with sin. "But," you say, "temptation to sin and sin are two separate matters!" That's true, but sometimes we're more fond of the temptation than we'd like to admit, so we set ourselves on a path to knowingly rub shoulders with temptation as if that were better than setting out on a direct course to sin. Perhaps an example will clarify. If you're at home watching TV alone you may not say to yourself, "I'm gonna try to find something sinful." However, if you're not watching with an active desire to honor Christ, then you just might be willing to stop your channel surfing at a particular place, saying to yourself, "Hmm. What's this?" knowing full well that you're not heading in the right direction. That willingness to stop and entertain the coming temptation is where sin begins.
Read on only if you're a word nerd. What's up with "dally"? To dally is to show casual interest in something. It comes from an Old French word meaning "to chat." A chat is a casual conversation, usually pretty superficial, noncommittal. Christlikeness is never a matter of casual interest; it doesn't come about that way. It's an all-out pursuit, like when you watch a lion hunting down a gazelle on the Discovery Channel.