Unfortunately, sin is not a once-and-done event. James 1:14–16 describes its clear progression: “But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.” The enemy deceives us by distorting sin’s benefits and downplaying the consequences. And Satan is not satisfied with one singular sin. He wants us to repeat it, to feed it, to make it our own, so that it can accomplish its whole destructive purpose (i.e., become “full-grown”). It leads to certain death of every sort. Spiritual, relational, mental, emotional—every aspect of our life is vulnerable to sin’s lure. God’s people were existing in the final “stage” of the sin process: “As at Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there” (6:7). Their corrupt leaders had committed shameful crimes (7:1). Hosea repeated the charge regarding Israel’s prostitution, an accusation that would continue to have personal resonance for him. Then he pronounced judgment on all of Israel who missed out on the healing work of God because of recurring crimes. For example, Hosea wrote, they robbed and they lied (7:1). But what made this situation even more tragic was Israel’s blindness to sin. They were so consumed (NIV uses “engulf” in 7:2) by their sin that they no longer saw it as such. Sin had become normal for them, and their conscience was numb. They also failed to realize that God kept a close account. He remembered “all their evil deeds” (v. 2). This sin progression is a well-worn pattern that began in the Garden, held true for God’s people in Hosea’s time, and still traps us today. >> Search your own heart today for evidence of sin or the temptation to disobey God’s commands. Ask God to reveal any sin patterns that have become so habitual that they now seem “normal” to you.