In Kahlil Gibran’s book “The Prophet”, one of the chapters is on homes. Gibran states “You think you own your house, but at night when you are asleep, it laughs at you, because it really owns you.” Gibran is referring to our attention, resources, and stress level.
In like manner, our unconfessed sins laugh at us in the night, for we think as long as they are hidden in our souls, we can enjoy their pleasures with no negative consequences. But this is a lie from the Father of Lies to draw us away from a sweet relationship with our Lord. When we fall for these lies, the joke is on us:
* Gluttony promises the pleasure of consuming food or drugs in unlimited quantities with no negative consequences, but delivers obesity, ill health, and ultimately death.
* Greed promises more money will make us happy, but delivers broken relationships, loneliness, mistrust, and crime.
* Envy claims we will achieve more because we want more, but leads to dissatisfaction with ourselves, with others, and crime.
* Lust promises sexual pleasures of all kinds as the ultimate pleasure, but delivers broken relationships, heartache, pornography, and STDs.
* Sloth promises a life of total freedom from responsibility, but delivers disorder, lack of purpose and direction, and chaos.
* Anger promises total freedom by expressing ourselves completely whenever we feel like it, but delivers broken relationships, work place conflicts, and high stress.
* Pride promises feelings of high self-esteem, superiority, and empowerment, but leads to shallow relationships, alienation from others, and even crime.
Jesus declared that embracing sin is slavery: “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34), but
provides a solution to this dilemma – repent! Our sins laugh at us in the night at our cravings. Repent today to get rid of them!
And remember – every non-believer we meet is suffering from at least one of these lies, as well as the ultimate lie – a belief that we can really know truth and have an abundant life apart from God. So helping people see that it is only the narrow path with Christ that leads to joy and peace does them a big favor, and it might save their life for eternity.
To God be the Glory
Board of Evangelism