Why do I sin? Our culture says that one of the reasons that I sin is because I am a victim of my past. The events of our past cause us to be who we are. If you are struggling with those thoughts today, I would encourage you to take time to read Genesis Chapters 37-50 and focus on the concluding statement from Joseph in Genesis 50:20. If anyone has a reason for being bitter and resentful, it is Joseph, but instead of allowing those events to “cause” him to become bitter, he allowed them to enable him to become better!. Events must never define who we are, or what we can become. Our relationship with God must do that. We must never minimize the cost of trauma in our lives, But we must remain focused on the plan of God in molding us into the image of Christ. We read in Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I don not count myself to have arrived; But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We must face the violations of life with an eschatological mindset. While these sinful violations are not excusable, and usually painful emotionally and physically, we must remember that according to 1 Corinthians 10:13 God will not tempt us beyond what we are able, and according to Romans 8:28-29 God has a plan for allowing these violations to occur in our lives. These actions must not shape our view of who we are or what God want us to do.