Hidden Sins

I remember as a starving teenager, I'd often go to the kitchen in the middle of the night and eat cake, or some other dessert. But because I didn't want to get caught, I didn't cut out a normal piece. I'd cut a long, skinny piece the width of the cake pan. Make sure not to move the pan. Put the knife back where it was. Trying my best to cover up my sin.

It was the perfect crime.

In the moment of temptation, we are thinking about the pleasures of that sin.

But at the same time we plot our cover-up story.

We forget that no cover-up will hide our sin from God.

"You have set our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your presence."
(Psalm 90:8)

God knows. All of our sins are set before Him. They take place in His presence. Picture that the next time you're tempted to peruse porn in the dark in the middle of the night. It's not really dark. You are in the light of God's presence.

God knows our thoughts, too. So even the sins of imagination, where we think no one can ever know, God knows about them.

Envy. Anger. Bitterness. Resentment. Unforgiving attitude. Pride. Lustful thoughts.

We do our best to cover those up. We try not to let them slip out. We keep them hidden from those around us.

But God knows our thoughts.

And He doesn't get a simple update at the end of the day listing all the sins that we've done.

He's right there. He sees them as they happen.

The next time temptation comes knocking, remind yourself that you're already busy with the supreme guest. The holy God is right there beside you and you're living to please Him.

One or the Other - You Choose

When we went to Grandma Daily's for the holidays, she always had at least two choices of pie. Chocolate meringue and tart cherry are the ones that I remember the most.

My problem was that I could never decide between the two. Of course, I'd already stuffed myself on the other food. But I was a kid and later a teen, so I always had room for pie!

So, what does a grandma do in a situation like that?

She cut the pieces in half and gave me a piece of each! I didn't have to decide between one or the other. I could have both. A great solution for a person who has trouble making up his mind.

That's not how it always works.

Jesus said in Luke 16:13, "No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."

Notice what Jesus did not say.

He did not say that money was bad. He did not say that being rich or poor makes a difference in your spiritual life.

What He said was that you can't serve God and serve money at the same time.

You have to make a choice.

And the choice is really simple if you stop to think about it.

Money is a thing that can't love you back. God is a person who demonstrated His love to you already through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Loving money can lead you to sin. Workaholics. Gambling. Stealing. Abuse of power. Deceit.

Loving God will lead you to righteous living. "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love" (John 15:10). To display your love to God, you will be obedient to Him. Living a righteous life. Putting off sin. Putting on righteousness.

You can have chocolate meringue and cherry pie. But you can't serve God and money at the same time.

So what does your day look like?

Are you using your money as a tool to show your love to God?

Are you displaying your love to God or your love of money?

You've got to choose.