Even those who don’t necessarily ‘do’ said behaviors, worship those who are successful, with their high fashion, beautiful bodies with the perfect makeup that will hide any imperfection causing us to ‘dream and say what if’. And the truth is, we all have imperfections!
I can’t imagine the pain and humiliation a person goes through after being ‘caught in satan’s trap; yet it happens more than we’d imagine and to people we’d least likely expect!
I read about a person who was found guilty of bank fraud. It cost them their CPA license, their good name in the community and the realization that the behavior for a ‘quick fix’ to his money problems broke relationship with his family, and cost him jail time.
This was really driven home for me when some years ago a banker in our small town was arrested and convicted of embezzlement. Our town and nearby communities were shocked, since this person was warm, wonderful, and well-known; the last person you’d expect any kind of fraudulent activity!
Because we all make mistakes, when we admit failure, there is hope beyond the situation we find ourselves. There are still going to be physical consequences to pay for whatever we've done, but knowing when we turn to Jesus, we can begin picking up the pieces.
Our God is a patient, forgiving Master. He said, (paraphrased) you can’t serve two masters, because you will be devoted to one and the other will destroy! The example he used is money. (Matthew 6:24) There are other kinds of ‘masters’, but money is notable because we use it for everything we acquire! It doesn’t mean money is bad in and of itself. But it becomes a problem when money becomes first in our lives.
But like Eve, who was deceived by satan to eat the apple, we get tricked into thinking ‘one more thing’ surely won’t matter. But at what point do we become so engrossed in the ‘one more thing’ mentality we totally miss what’s most important? Devotion and obedience to God should be first and foremost in our minds and hearts. But as satan wraps his evil spirit around us, digs his claws in just a little bit deeper while continuing to whisper the lies that keep us confused and ultimately disobedient, we forget that God is not going to knock us over to remind us what’s going on.
We have a conscience and if we ignore it long enough, satan is going to win that battle. But God is patient and wants nothing more than for us to recognize what we are doing and realize that the only way we are going to have a relationship with him, is to walk away from that which entices us at the moment, more than Him! He is a supremely, forgiving God when we surrender to Him.
God wants us to have an abundant and successful life. But that requires us ‘doing the right thing’ by putting him first in our lives. That is where success really happens. When we are focusing on God, we experience a spiritual and emotional filling that decries any of the worldly pleasures, careers, or any success attained any other way!
Our treasures should be invested in the eternal rather than what is on this earth, which is temporary. We need to have the right priorities in order to have the right relationship with God, the Creator and Savior of the World.
Happy Easter, Everyone!
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