What do I do if I know what I am doing is wrong but do it anyway? How should I handle that?

That is a great question! Did you know that everyone struggles with that? It’s called sin, and it’s, unfortunately, our human nature to sin. That means we have to work extra hard not to do the things we know we shouldn’t.

I’m sure you’ve heard of Paul, who wrote a lot of the books in the New Testament. He said in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but hate I hate I do.” Even Paul, a champion of the Christian faith, struggled with sin.

So how do you stop? There isn’t an exact answer, as conquering sin will be a lifelong battle. Here are some things that will help to be strong to resist the temptation of sin.

1. Pray. God gives us strength when we pray. We must realize that we cannot conquer sin on our own. It will take His power. Paul says that we should boast in our weakness because it is then that He is made strong!
2. Repent. It is important to ask God for forgiveness when you do things that are wrong. We know that He will forgive our sins and remove them from his memory. We just have to ask. When you ask, though, you should have a heart that truly feels sorry for your sin. By asking for forgiveness, we realize how our sin separates us from God, and trains us to want to please Him instead of sin against Him.
3. Accountability. This is basically just a word that means, find someone you trust and share with them any particular sin you are struggling with. Ask them to hold you accountable, or responsible, for your sin. It can simply be an email they send asking you about how you are doing with that sin. The bottom line is that we are less likely to do something wrong if we know we’ll have to answer to someone for it!