Hi, this is Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to Joni and Friends.
Deceitfulness. Now there’s a word that sounds like what it means, right? Deceitfulness. And never does the meaning of deceitfulness hit us harder than when we deceive ourselves.
Listen to Hebrews 3:13. It says, “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” That’s right – sin is going to lie to you and makes you think that what is right is a fraud. It’s going to have you thinking that good people are wearing the black hats. It’s going to have you thinking that evil sounds not half bad. And the result of it all? Well, the book of Hebrews hits the nail on the head – you become hardened. Your heart becomes calloused.
We are deceived when we tend to regard sin as less sinful and dangerous than it really is. We are deceived when we find ourselves a little too ready to diminish or weaken our sin, or make an excuse for it or minimize it or rationalize it… when we believe that sin is not quite so sinful as God says it is and that we are not quite so bad as we, in fact, are. Then we’re heading for trouble.
I can illustrate that personally. The other day I went back to the gas station because they forgot to put my gas cap back on my tank. I was riding around without a cap on my gas tank. The station attendant reached for a cap on his desk – somebody had returned it and found it – and asked, “Is this yours?”
I didn’t think twice. I just said, “Yeah, that’s it… thanks.” But you know what? As I took a closer look… I knew that gas cap wasn’t mine.
And as I drove away, I felt guilty. But not so guilty as to stop me from driving around with that gas cap on my van for a few days. Finally, I just couldn’t take that. I went back to the gas station, I went to the gas station attendant, and I returned the cap.
Now, you may not think that’s a big deal. You may say, “Joni, don’t sweat the small stuff.” But, I tell you, it’s where the small stuff begins deceiving us. And you have got to rip the mask off sin’s deceitfulness. We are just too apt to forget that temptation to sin will rarely present itself in its true colors. As Bishop J.C. Ryle says, “Never, when we are tempted, will we hear sin say to us, ‘I am your deadly enemy… I want to ruin your life.’”
No, that’s not how it works. Instead, sin comes to us like Judas with a kiss. Or it comes to us like Joab with outstretched hands and flattering words – how are you buddy? Or like that luscious fruit must have looked to Eve… so delectable. In its beginnings, sin seems harmless enough – like David walking idly on his palace roof which happened to overlook the bedroom of a woman.
You and I may give wickedness smooth-sounding names, but we cannot alter its nature and character in the sight of God.
So today, take these words as simply my way of taking Hebrews 3:13 to heart. “Don’t be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
And once again, let me remind you of our website. It’s joniandfriends.org. Of course, you can always call and talk to one of our team members by dialing 888-522-5664. God’s blessings on you until next time when we get together for Joni and Friends.
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