Sneaky Sin

Sin is designed to lure and entrap you in the most surreptitious of ways. The devil is a master of disguise who veils his schemes in things that appear to be innocuous. He wraps sin up in a variety of packaging, often under the guise of fun and entertainment – a t.v. show, a play, a game, a movie, even a song, are not exempt from his methods of deceit, he will place his mark on them all as he seeks to entangle and destroy you. It is his sneaky way of distracting the unsuspecting believer away from the Lord and getting you mired in sin.

Beloved, sin can begin as the smallest and simplest of distractions. Something that seems to be just innocent fun turns out to be innocent fun with a side order of sin and sadly, many times, you’ve placed that order yourself. The devil’s expertise is sneakiness and you cannot afford to be deceived. Because Satan is so crafty and adept at his trade – he has had thousands of years to perfect it – it is easy to be outwitted by him but you cannot allow folly to outweigh wisdom. 

Without becoming fanatical, you need to get into the habit of carefully examining the things that you’re getting involved in. The seemingly “innocent fun” things that are demanding all your attention and taking you into the idol worship zone, is a trap that anyone can fall into without even realizing it.

Apostle Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 10 to stay away from idol worship. He reminds us about what happened to the Israelites who indulged in idol worship and subsequently other sinful behavior while they were on their sojourn to the Promised Land. 

When your focus has shifted to constantly engaging in everything other than the things of God, you’re going to encounter the problem of yielding to temptation. The devil is counting on your willingness to compromise but Christians must set an example of restraint. It is not an easy road to walk but if you are sincere and serious, walk you must, always keeping in mind that you are not alone on your journey, you have an aid, a helper, a guide, advocate and counselor – the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will give you a heads up if you’ll be sensitive to His nudging and attentive to His leading. 

The Israelites had the presence of God with them constantly, night and day, hovering and covering, yet still they chose to be wayward. They committed sexual sins, had wild drunkard parties, complained bitterly and tested Christ. Please know that you can’t have it both ways; you cannot expect to have the Holy Spirit and partake in sin at the same time. God will not occupy the same space as sin. 

The Apostle wrote,

“They all ate the same spiritual food, and they all drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from that spiritual rock that was with them, and that rock was Christ. But God was not pleased with most of those people…So anyone who thinks they are standing strong should be careful that they don’t fall. The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God…when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation…So, my dear friends, stay away from worshiping idols. You are intelligent people.” – 1 Corinthians 10:3-5, 12, 13, 14, 15 (ERV)

You are intelligent, trust God, He is your escape, ask Him for wisdom to recognize that sneaky sin that can so easily entrap you.

Amen†

Sneaky Sin

Shelley Johnson July 17, 2017