Mathetes

There are some things we get ourselves into trouble with that are the result of direct poor choices we have made.  There are other things that trouble us because they are afflictions we did not directly choose, burdens seemingly placed upon us that seek to destroy us.  Most of us would say that the first describes sin -even all sin (which often has lumped in with it things like depression and anxiety)- and the second describes something else, such as having a debilitating illness.  But in the context of what the Bible teaches, these overlap and both describe sin.   Many sins involve deliberate, poor choices.  Take adultery, for example.  Still, we know from Scripture that even bad decisions stem from what's already in the heart.  Other sins or spiritual maladies, in particular what our spiritual forefathers would call “besetting sins," are more heavily on the spectrum of crippling afflictions than they are deliberate poor choices.  To understand this distinction is important,