Sin is never Singular

HOW DID I GET HERE?   How was I deceived?   Ask my father.   You're supposed to "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."   (Prov. 22:6).   So that's what he did -- and he did it well.
     He'd come home drunk and belligerent.   And once he got started, he'd go on and on, repeating himself, offended if you didn't respond correctly.   Like Russian roulette, a wrong answer; a yes that should have been no, and he might explode.   But eventually . . . I caught on.
     I learned what to say and how to say it.   I learned how to read him, anticipate him, and determine exactly what he wanted to hear.   It was pure survival; humor him and keep him appeased.   And the more I practiced, the better I got.   The easier it was to con him.
     Yes, he trained me well.
     As an adult, humoring others came naturally.   It was a part of me, my personality; a knee-jerk like response that gained me favor by telling anyone what they wanted to hear.   I was the social chameleon that most Adult Child Of Alcoholics are.   And I used my talent well, humoring and deceiving everyone I met--
everyone!
     I owe him a lot.   He trained me well.
     So well, that when that preacher told me I needed to call out to Jesus in repentance and seek forgiveness because my sins weren't pleasing God . . . Well
. . . figure it out . . . I even fooled myself . . . But I
didn't fool God.
     Now you know how I got here.

[Christian Helps Ministry (USA)] [Christian Home Bible Course]