Why Does God Allow Us To Fall Into Sin?

Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t always keep us from falling into sin?

After our conversion, why is it that God doesn’t instantly take away our weaknesses? Why do still we have to strive so hard to overcome temptations?

We do our best and yet we still seem to commit the same faults. We confess these sins over and over and we feel ashamed of it.

Have we no faith? Have we worked in vain?

Why Can’t We Be Like Those Holy Saints?

It was only later on that God made me realize the wisdom behind our gradual spiritual progress. While some people could be like those saints whose transformation is immediate, He allows others to experience a more gradual progress in their spiritual life.

We cannot fathom the depths of His wisdom, but there are some very significant reasons why He allows this to happen to us.

It was St. Teresa of Avila who gave me an idea about one of these important reasons I will discuss in this article:

“I believe that it is our Lord’s good pleasure frequently in the beginning, and at times in the end, to send these torments, and many other incidental temptations, to try those who love Him, and to ascertain if they will drink the chalice, and help Him to carry the Cross, before He intrusts them with His great treasures. I believe it to be for our good that His Majesty should lead us by this way, so that we may perfectly understand how worthless we are; for the graces which He gives afterwards are of a dignity so great, that He will have us by experience know our wretchedness before He grants them, that it may not be with us as it was with Lucifer.” – St. Teresa of Avila

God allows us to suffer these struggles over sin because He wants to save us from pride.

The Gift of Humility

Yes, humility is that very important gift God wants us to acquire amid our many falls. Because for many of us, a quick flight toward perfection could also mean a downward spiral because of pride and self-righteousness.

How many among us are like the Pharisees who believe that we are already perfect?

“Two men went up into the temple to pray: the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

The Pharisee standing, prayed thus with himself: O God, I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also is this publican.

I fast twice in a week: I give tithes of all that I possess.

And the publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven; but struck his breast, saying: O God, be merciful to me a sinner.

I say to you, this man went down into his house justified rather than the other: because every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled: and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted.”

-Luke 18:10-14 (DRA)

Do We Need To Fall?

“…we need to fall, and we need to be aware of it; for if we did not fall, we should not know how weak and wretched we are of ourselves, nor should we know our Maker’s marvelous love so fully…” – Julian of Norwich

We may not see our tendencies, but God knows. He sees our sincere desire to be holy, but He also sees the dangers of being too satisfied with ourselves.

Sometimes I see people who are so confident about their holiness that they look down on other people. They see only the faults of others but they fail to see their own spiritual poverty.

“…beware of forming rash judgments of your neighbor… have pity on him… gather from his fall the fruit of humility and self-knowledge, confessing yourself to be but dust and ashes, drawing nearer unto God in prayer, and shunning more carefully than ever all intercourse wherein there may be even the shadow of danger. For if you are forward to judge and despise others, God will correct you to your cost, and suffer you to fall into the same fault in order to convince you of your weakness, that by such a humiliation both sins may be cured.” -The Spiritual Combat

Our task is not only to accomplish things externally but to have a poor spirit, a spirit that depends entirely upon God. Because it is God who gives us the grace to overcome sin.

Avoiding Despair

When we fall into the same sins, we sometimes become so frustrated and we begin to lose hope. This also should be avoided.

God allows us to fall only to protect us from pride. But we should not let it be a source of our despair.

Even if we sin, we must continue to believe in God’s mercy.

“My beloved, may every fall, even if it is serious and habitual sin, always become for us a small step toward a higher degree of perfection. In fact, the only reason why the Immaculate permits us to fall is to cure us from our self-conceit, from our pride, to make us humble and thus make us docile to the divine graces.” – St. Maximilian Kolbe

Never give up! It is not our own strength that we should trust but God’s immeasurable power. One day, when God knows that we have already gained the precious virtue of humility, He can easily bring us to the heights of perfection.

“I see clearly that you are mistaking the road, and that you will never arrive at the end of your journey. You want to climb the mountain, whereas God wishes you to descend it. He is awaiting you in the fruitful valley of humility.” – St. Therese of Lisieux

“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6 (NABRE)

Jocelyn Soriano is the author of 366 Days of Compassion. You may want to start your day by reading this devotional book to inspire you and lead you to prayer.

Where is God? God is with us, but we often do not know where to look and so we do not see. God is there, pursuing us, waiting for us to take the time to call on Him in our helplessness, in the routine of our daily lives. He is the one who will fill our lives with meaning and our hearts with hope and love.

Get the book from Amazon.

See Jocelyn’s books from other digital stores.

You may also want to read “A Warning To Self-Righteous Christians Who Lack Humility”.