11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
When we sin, we are declaring war against our own soul! We are instigating a ‘friendly fire’ event. We are attacking ourselves. How counter-productive is that! Peter reminds us that we are only temporary residents of this world; we are now permanent residents of heaven. Why would we want to do anything that might jeopardize that residency status? When we sin, we are choosing to act contrary to our goal of heaven. We are acting contrary to our new nature in Christ. We have the choice to sin or to obey. That is why Peter calls us to abstain, to say ‘no’ to those sinful desires. Sinful desires are desires that are directed in a way that dishonor God, His image in us, or His plan for creation. When we sin, we become His enemy in our actions. Sin is like a termite chewing at the foundation. The more we feed it, the more damage gets done. The sad thing is that we are chewing on our own foundation; we are destroying our soul. Our sin might also affect someone else as well. Mohammed has negatively affected billions around the world. Those who follow him, his example and life, have destroyed much of what is good in the world. Fear and repression are at the core of Islam as practiced by those who seek the purest, most true to the core Islam. Sin drives toward destruction. But Peter calls us to remember our temporary status here on earth, and choose to obey. When that happens, our soul prospers and we are one step closer to the Lord.
The Arnold Journey 