I Peter 2:1 "Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind."In Women's Bible Study last week, we studied the passage of I Peter 2:1. The scripture listed five specific types of sin that believers should stop practicing. All of the behaviors listed were extremely convicting, but the subpoint discussion of deceit was the most powerful to myself and my small group.
The speaker, Tana Larson, defined deceit as covering up the truth and giving a false impression for your own benefit. She explained that deceit was the sin Satan used to tempt Eve and Adam in the garden of Eden. (Genesis 3) My first impression was, as your's probably is, that you don't cover up truth on a normal basis. You make efforts to tell the truth and not lie to others. However, as Tana continued her discussion, she moved into the practical ways that we all practice deceit. Ouch! As she continued the list, I sank lower and lower into my chair. There are so many "harmless" things that we do, basically because society has deemed them "normal." It is a case of "everyone does that."
How many of you still bring your own "snack" into a movie theater? We all know that candy and popcorn, let alone beverages, are outlandishly expensive in a theater. A nice dinner is equivalent in cost to some munchies for the movie. However, there is a rule that you may not bring in outside food. We are deceitful when we sneak in our own goodies.
Do any of you speed when you are driving? The speed limit is 40, so you go 50 down the parkway. You might be over the speed limit, but you are going with the "flow of traffic."
How many of us completely stop at every stop sign? Do we obey the parking spaces that say 15 minutes only? When the sign says, "Right turn only", do we turn left? Do we lie to the telemarketer who is asking to talk to our husbands. "He isn't home right now," you say, as you look right at him.
Pastor Mike, my head pastor at Compass Bible Church, talked about this subject once in a sermon. His refinance company had wanted him to backdate signatures he was putting on his home loan papers. They told him everyone does it, and it was needed to speed up the process. He didn't want to practice even that deceitful habit, and he had to wait longer for his loan to go through--which might have cost him the lowest rate he could get.
What do all these examples have in common? They use excuses as their foundation. The movies overcharge people for food. I am only speeding because we are late or because I'm going with the flow of traffic. I don't need to do more than a rolling stop here because there are no other cars around. I can park in this 15 minute space because there are no other spots, and that is the fault of whoever planned this parking lot. They say right turn only, but that is because of school traffic. School isn't getting out right now. If the telemarketers would not call my home, I wouldn't have to lie to them to leave me alone. If I lie on this refinance date, it is harmless. I will get the best rate, and the company won't think I'm some righteous freak. Etc., etc. Satan used such excuses in the garden. Eve blamed the lies of the snake, and Adam passed the buck onto Eve for his deceit. However, when the sin first occured, the goal of each person was to benefit him or herself. The excuse given is to try and free him or herself from the consequences and guilt.
Now, we might not practice all these offenses, but one or two might look familiar. Why is it so important not to practice these deceitful actions, even though so much of society does and thinks us weird for avoiding them? First, God asks us not to be deceitful. I Peter 1: 15 says, "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do". That should be enough if we properly fear God. Secondly, as Christians, we are representatives of our Heavenly Father. What message do we send to the non-Christian who recognizes us in the movie theater when they see us pull a box of Red Vines from our jacket or purse? What do our lost co-workers see when we take office supplies home from work in order to use at our own home? They see us acting just like the "pagans." We are immediately labeled hypocrites, because, like our Creator, they hold Christians to the high standard of holiness. Our witness is tarnished and much less effective. In addition, those of us with young children, do we not realize our actions speak louder than our words? We are teaching our little ones where we draw the line of holiness and how we expect them to obey God by the standard we hold.
Peter urges the churches to rid themselves of "all" deceit. There is no exception or excuse. We need to actively pursue truth and purity, purposefully ending all deceitful practices that entangle us and weaken our usefulness in reaching others. Ask yourself, "What deception is in my life?" "What do I do to avoid consequences?" "What do I do to gain for self?" God will reveal the areas that need repentance and effort on your part. Remember this necessary battle against deceit next time you are tempted to steer your eleven item cart in the direction of the express checkout line.
3 comments:
Chiara, I love how you mentioned that we often stoop to the world's standards, yet, I know that we should be the salt and the light (Matt 5:13-14). It is easy to fall into that temptation. Thanks for the reminder.
That's what it all comes down to...we are doing things because we have our own standards. To US, taking candy into the movies isn't a bad thing because it's so expensive. It doesn't seem like a sin issue. To us, there isn't another parking space so it's okay. To us, no one will be affected by that left turn in the wrong place so it's okay. What is the theme? It's what OUR standard says is okay. What's so scary about that is that the rest of the world is obviously living by their own standard and look where it's getting them. None of us has the right to live by our own standard and when we try to, we see that sin and lawlessness ensues. Instead, we are to live by God's standard which is outlined in His Word. Thanks for this blog entry, Chiara! It reinforced what we learned at WBS.
Wow. I do a bunch of those things. The traffic ones become even more convicting when you have the Compass Bible Church bumper sticker on the back of your car...
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