The kids and I planted our potatoes a few months ago. “It’s so easy!” said a number of people to me. I decided to give it a try, setting aside some organic potatoes on the window sill for weeks until they had decent sprouts. I purchased two potato grow bags for about $8 and added a healthy blend of soil and compost to the bottom of the bag. Within days, we saw immediate results!

Week after week, we watched them grow. I tended to them daily, pulling off a dead leaf here or there, watering them as needed, rescuing them from torrential downpours, and bringing them into our sunroom. I sent a picture to a farmer at our church, and he said, “You can’t tell me anymore that you have a brown thumb.”

As the weeks passed by and I continued to see more growth, I thought to myself, “Wow. This is easy.” But life has been busy these last few weeks, and rather than checking on them daily, I’ve glanced at them every few days. From the outside, everything seemed fine, but today, when I went to check on them, I was shocked to see brown spots all over one of my plants and the beginning stages forming on another. What happened?

Fungal infections are common in potatoes, and if left unchecked, their spores spread rapidly, even in as little as 12 hours! I purchased some copper fungicide to see if I can remedy the situation, but there is always the chance that our hard work may have come to an end. I’ve experienced this in gardening before and have come to accept that this is a part of the learning process; however, I couldn’t help but think of the spiritual parallels these sad-looking potatoes brought to mind.

While Christians are no longer enslaved to sin, we still battle sin daily (Rom. 6:6). If left unchecked, a sinful thought leads to more lingering and meditating on those thoughts, which eventually leads to acting on those thoughts. James 1:15 says, “Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully matured, it brings forth death.” If we don’t see our sin for what it is—rebellion against God—and we entertain that sin, it will try to gain mastery over us. Here’s the thing: sin doesn’t care if we’ve had several great days of victory. Like my potatoes, if left unchecked or neglected, sin will take root in our hearts and minds and have its intended effect upon us. We cannot get lazy, apathetic, or even prideful, thinking that a day can go by where we are not checking our hearts and fighting against the sin that easily entangles us. We need to live in the power of the Holy Spirit and by the truth of His Word at all times.

The frustrating part in our battle with sin is that it can pop up at anytime—before falling asleep, while talking on the phone, while driving, or even in church! We may not have struggled with a sin for years and then all of a sudden a thought pops into our mind and with that sinful thoughts comes sinful justifications convincing us that it is okay to given in. The sin might be gossip, glancing at someone who isn’t your spouse, spending more than you’ve budgeted, skipping your Bible reading for the day, or even bragging about your Bible reading for the day. Satan has set up traps everywhere and every person’s weakness will look different from day to day and moment to moment, but our solution remains the same. We have been given spiritual armor to combat the fiery darts that will come our way.

Ephesians 6:10-13 says:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the might of His strength. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

The difference between us and my potatoes is that we are not without hope; God has equipped us with all we need to combat sin. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Corinthians 15:57.) Because of the person and work of Christ, we know that death has no hold on us. It is possible for us to “not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts” and that we don’t have to “go on presenting your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness” but can be instruments of righteousness for God (Romans 6:13). And if we have fallen into sin, we must learn to be quick to repent, confessing to God and those we’ve sinned against, taking responsibility for the sins we’ve committed, setting up boundaries, seeking accountability, and moving on knowing that Jesus sustains us even in our shortcomings.

I hope our potatoes are fine, but even if not, they served an illustrative purpose I will not forget. May we die to ourselves daily and work at killing sin so that we can present ourselves as worthy instruments of righteousness for the glory of God.