IN THE WARMTH OF TEMPTATION?
Memorise: Blessed is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor
sitteth in the seat of the scornful. Psalms 1:1
When the Bible enjoys us in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 to
abstain from all appearance of evil and we keep to this biblical injunction, we
are spared the calamity that would have befallen us if we did otherwise. We may
not know the great dangers our adherence to this instruction has saved us from
until we see the suffering of someone who did not pay attention to it. The
Bible in many instances warns us against keeping company with the ungodly so
that we are not entangled in their wickedness ( 1 Corinthians 15:33). The story
was told of a sparrow which kept company with destructive ravens on a rice
farm. When the owner of the farm caught the ravens in his net, the sparrow was
also caught. In his plea, the sparrow told the farmer that he was not among the
birds that destroyed the farmer’s rice farm and that he was not a raven. The
farmer replied the sparrow: ”Too bad that you are not a raven, but you shall be
judge according to the company you keep.”
Peter in the Bible reading of today did three deadly
things that fostered his denial of Jesus Christ. First, the Bible says he was
following Jesus afar off. Probably he might have received courage from the
Master if he had followed Jesus closely. Secondly, he went as far as following
Jesus to the palace of the high priest. Following Jesus from afar was bad
enough but following him to the palace of the high priest was just too bad. It
could have paid off if he had backed out with the other disciples; after all,
Jesus had backed out with the other disciples; after all, Jesus had told the
soldiers to allow his disciples go while he volunteered His arrest (John
18:8-9). From this event, we can see the reason why Jesus told the Laodicean Church to be either cold or hot
(Revelation 3:14-16). The third thing Peter did was that on getting to the
palace of the high priest, he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the
fire (Mark 14:66-67)! One would wonder what Peter was still doing in that place
after he had been confronted not once but twice about the fact that he had been
with Jesus. The answer is not far-fetched; he was enjoying the warmth of the
fire in that environment. Beloved, let us beware of comfort zones in life; they
may be physically comfortable but not spiritually ideal. When a Christian lady
is squatting among four male counterparts because of accommodation problems,
she is playing with fire and it will soon burn her. Likewise when a young man
is putting up with three to four female counterparts because of accommodation
problems, he will soon be affected by the fire of lust. Let us be careful.
Action Point
Study your environment and see whether
or not it is conducive for your spiritual wellbeing and take wise steps to
avoid the warmth of temptation.
0 Comments
Please drop a comment. God bless you!