Sin Wears Camo

        Sin is a ruse designed to convince us that what is not good for us is the best for us.

        “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14: 12).

        Sin meets us at the crossroads of life having switched the direction signals of right and wrong to get us on the wrong road. It seems right but is wrong.

        This passage highlights the transient nature of worldly pleasures and contrasts them with the eternal value of doing God’s will. The desires of the flesh and eyes, along with pride, are seen as distractions that can lead one away from a life centered on God.

        In the Christian life, the call to prioritize God’s will over worldly pleasures is a recurring theme throughout Scripture. This principle is rooted in the understanding that true fulfillment and joy are found in a relationship with God, rather than in the fleeting pleasures of the world.                

        If you were going to make a counterfeit $20.00 bill what would you want to make it look like? Naturally, a $20.00 bill. Satan skillfully makes sin look like that which is good and right.

        The Scripture refers to “the passing pleasures of sin…” (Hebrews 11: 24 – 26) We tend to want to profess sin isn’t pleasant. Experience and the Bible join in saying sin has its pleasures. 

        Contrast those passing pleasures with the pleasures God provides, “In Your presence is fullness of joy… At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16: 11).

        Therefore, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (I John 2: 15 – 17).

        Sin’s younger sibling is noted in Hebrews 11: 1, “ …let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us….” Herein sin is noted along beside “weight.” A weight is not necessarily a sin, but can be a good thing that keeps us from doing the right thing. This is a point at which many Christians who are adept at avoiding sin are kept from that which is best by that which is good.

        “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12: 1).