Sin is foolishness and we are the fools. Don't think you are not because you are only one decision away from being unfaithful to the God who is nothing but faithful. We are a wayward wife, refusing to find satisfaction at home, and rushing around town, searching for anything that will thrill us. It is like we forget who our husband is and care not the consequences of our actions. We flirt with the dangerous, the things that will hurt our God if we were to get involved with them. We excuse it away, find someone else to blame or refuse to see it for what it is, giving it a new name and calling it good.
We allow the enemy of our soul to court us, as if we did not already have the finest husband. We allow him to introduce us to things that seem so sweet to taste without realizing the cancer it will produce. We look around, see so many others doing it, ignore what we already know to be the truth and consider that there must be safety in numbers. We know we shouldn't but the enemy of our soul, dressed as a beautiful vision of white, encourages us on.
Solomon, in warning his son against an adulterous woman, stated it in a way that describes all sin that attracts us away from God:
And so, she tricked him
with all of her sweet talk
and her flattery.
22 Right away he followed her
like an ox on the way
to be slaughtered,
or like a fool on the way
to be punished[a]
23 and killed with arrows.
He was no more than a bird
rushing into a trap,
without knowing
it would cost him his life. (Proverbs 7:21-23)
Remember Jesus' words:
If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it. What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What could you give to get back your soul? (Mark 8:34-37)
If we do not understand the seriousness of our relationship with God perhaps it is because we don't know Jesus or we have allowed many things to distract us from him. How, in all seriousness, can we be willing to chase after the world after experiencing the benefits of Jesus?
We are not surprised by the depravity of the world's thinking and the action that arise. We are saddened by it but not surprised. However, we should be shocked and horrified to find sin entertained and celebrated in the Church. Yes, unfortunately there will be times when our unredeemed bodies will cause us to stumble, but we don't excuse it or try to hide it. We run to our Father and present it in all our shame to have him wash it away with a word. But when we invite it in, excuse it, accept it as part of us, celebrate it and even allow it to rise higher than Jesus, we are in a lot of trouble.
The untrained, undisciplined, unsaved masses of the Church are falling for the courtship of the enemy. They are following after the lies of demons. They are chasing after the world dressed in the vocabulary of the Church. They are deceived. What will they do to get back their soul? What trap have they flown into like an unaware bird?
Quick, flee to the feet of Jesus. Surrender to the direction of the Spirit. Repent of our ways and seek the face of God. Be renewed in righteousness. Claim the holiness that has been proclaimed over us. Know that you have an enemy and he is out to destroy your soul. Look to the things above. Set your heart and mind on the things above. Let go of the trappings of this world and find your satisfaction in your husband, in our Lord Jesus Christ. You are his bride, his most beautiful, radiant bride, so act like it. Be devoted to your husband, faithful until your very last breath.
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