[Everyone] is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. -James 1:14-15

For me, it’s being judgmental. Someone says something I don’t agree with, and I dwell on a scornful thought. I scoff inwardly. A few days or weeks later, the thoughts keep coming, and I don’t stop them. I shake my head at people in disgust. Soon, I’m scowling. Inwardly, I’m getting more irritable, more proud, and less patient. And as it goes on, it gets harder to control. It just keeps building unless I pray and shut it down.

A friend of mine remarked that to follow God, you have to give up your free will. The opposite is true.

Sin starts out small. A little temptation indulged. Nothing too bad, right? But that’s just how it starts.

It grows. It festers. It takes over. What was once a fairly innocent vice becomes a habit. What was once a habit becomes an addiction. You lose control. Sin compromises your will and enslaves you to self-destructive desires. Eventually, it brings death: spiritual, and possibly physical.

Sin is the zombie plague.

Thankfully, there’s a cure.