It's Time to Look Under the Rug
The other day I attended a meeting in a place that seemed filled with good things. People were collecting food for the hungry, money for groups that help the homeless and provide shelters for families who have been evicted from their homes. School supplies were being collected and clothing donations were being taken up. It just made you feel good to see all of these good deeds occurring in one setting. I watched the people as they went about greeting one another and telling each other how much they enjoyed seeing them. It was encouraging to see such acceptance. How pleasing it was! All of this was done in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I was most certainly for that. Jesus certainly taught us to do good deeds and be accepting of one another. He taught us to live a life of love and demonstrate that by being giving people not just of things but of our talents and of our time by doing for others as well.
Sometimes we can feel safer by just looking at the outward appearance and doing our best to ignore the rest. It is best not to peer behind the curtain or peek under the rug unless you really want the truth. I have a hard time not doing just that. I just have to know what things are about. This endless curiosity, which I believe came from my mother, causes me to press on. I like to have the whole story. Sometimes things are just what you would expect them to be. The outside picture that has been painted is indeed an accurate representation of what lies beneath but at other times things do not match at all. The devil has a great way of painting a picture. I don't particularly like to mention him but I find that I need to here otherwise the story will not be complete. He is after all the great deceiver and he has fooled people for centuries. Wars that Christians have initiated on others were the results of the devil at work with just a few. All of the atrocities that have occurred throughout history in the name of a church are the results of his conniving and destructive influence. He hates everyone but doesn't much bother those that he already has. I think perhaps his greatest trick is to convince others that he doesn't exist. He has pulled a new one out of his bag for me anyway.
I saw an example of this when I first visited my husband's home after we began dating. He invited me over to watch a movie. I said sure, I had not seen where he lived and curiosity rose in me and I decided to go. While he put the DVD in its player, I looked around the room and noticed a thin dark trail coming from the wall and slowly climbing to the ceiling. I, as usual. opened my big mouth and said, "hey, I think you might have termites." He was embarrassed, got a broom and assured me as he wiped it off that it was just a spider web. I could sense that he wasn't particularly happy with my comment so I didn't mention it again. After some months, I became a bit bolder and I commented that there were now several trails coming out from the corner of the ceiling onto the ceiling itself. I recommended that he call an exterminator. Perhaps to shut me up, he agreed. The exterminator showed up and announced that he did indeed have termites and that the wood on that corner of the house had been eaten through and would require repairs. The exterminator pushed on the wall and saw it give. The underpinnings and wall supports were in jeopardy. As I thought on this, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, "That is just like doubt." People don't realize that it doesn't take a terrible event like a flood or an earthquake or being told you have cancer to shake your faith and plant doubt in your heart all it takes is some tiny thing slowly eating away at the support beams of your faith. The outside surface can still appears quite good. There are occasional things that are like little dust trails that we brush off but what we don't know is that the greatest damage is being hidden under the rug or behind the curtains.
It is so easy to pride ourselves that we can withstand every affront to what we believe. The citizens of Germany in the 1930's, I feel sure, did not look ahead and realize that they could be lead down the dark road they would take during the second world war. I am sure, if you had questioned them, they would have assured you of their commitment to God and country. What they did not know is that the little lies so often told were like termites to their core beliefs. In a brief time, these same good and honorable people would close their collective eyes and hearts as millions of innocent men, women and children were murdered under their very noses. At some point they made a decision to not see what was going on behind the curtain or to sweep it all under the rug. Before they knew it, they were in so deep that the quicksand of deceit drug them into a bottomless pit of murdering or concealing the murders of the very people whom they had once considered friends. I am sure many had come to doubt what was really true and traded this truth for the lies they now embraced.
The doubt game has been played for a very long, long, long time. Many feel that no one could deceive them and may even think someone who falls prey to deception is just foolish. But many a lie will ride in on the back of truth. The scripture describes many as those who are ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. The reality is that doubt, like termites, does make inroads into our unsuspecting lives. Although the motives that we use to improve ourselves may seem rational and even positive we must take care that a lie doesn't enter there. Even the outside trappings may look the same, but the guy who is really pulling the strings is smarter than we are. It is vanity that makes us think we can outwit him. In the garden, Eve and Adam were easily deceived in the same way. They were asked if God had really said something. The first seed of doubt was planted when Eve stated God's words in her own words. She added the little phrase "or touch it." However, the real sell was, when the adversary of our lives told Eve that she would be a god if she ate of the tree. Well, who would not want to be a god? So many enjoy blaming Eve. But the reality was Eve and Adam were out of their league. They stepped into the trap with one move. They had no idea they were walking into a trap because if they had it wouldn't have been a trap. A rat doesn't recognize a trap, he just smells cheese or peanut butter. We should not think so highly of ourselves. One thing we all know is the end result. The relationship that every Christian should desire and one that was enjoyed by them on a daily basis was stripped away in a moment. They no longer could enjoy walking and talking with God. The door to His sweet presence was shut.
The lesson to be learned is this: Be very careful who or what you invite into your life. Cultivate your relationship with God by becoming a dedicated student of His Word. Keep your spiritual life fresh by times of daily prayer and devotion. Recognize that you have an adversary who goes about as a roaring lion looking for someone to devour and this is certainly not his only disguise. His primary goal is to destroy whatever faith you hold in God and he will use any means necessary to do so. Don't just judge something by how it looks or sounds. Take time to pull up the rug or pull back the curtain for what is really hidden there. For it just may be a trap to take you down the road to unbelief and that my Friend is the Real Truth.
Sometimes we can feel safer by just looking at the outward appearance and doing our best to ignore the rest. It is best not to peer behind the curtain or peek under the rug unless you really want the truth. I have a hard time not doing just that. I just have to know what things are about. This endless curiosity, which I believe came from my mother, causes me to press on. I like to have the whole story. Sometimes things are just what you would expect them to be. The outside picture that has been painted is indeed an accurate representation of what lies beneath but at other times things do not match at all. The devil has a great way of painting a picture. I don't particularly like to mention him but I find that I need to here otherwise the story will not be complete. He is after all the great deceiver and he has fooled people for centuries. Wars that Christians have initiated on others were the results of the devil at work with just a few. All of the atrocities that have occurred throughout history in the name of a church are the results of his conniving and destructive influence. He hates everyone but doesn't much bother those that he already has. I think perhaps his greatest trick is to convince others that he doesn't exist. He has pulled a new one out of his bag for me anyway.
I saw an example of this when I first visited my husband's home after we began dating. He invited me over to watch a movie. I said sure, I had not seen where he lived and curiosity rose in me and I decided to go. While he put the DVD in its player, I looked around the room and noticed a thin dark trail coming from the wall and slowly climbing to the ceiling. I, as usual. opened my big mouth and said, "hey, I think you might have termites." He was embarrassed, got a broom and assured me as he wiped it off that it was just a spider web. I could sense that he wasn't particularly happy with my comment so I didn't mention it again. After some months, I became a bit bolder and I commented that there were now several trails coming out from the corner of the ceiling onto the ceiling itself. I recommended that he call an exterminator. Perhaps to shut me up, he agreed. The exterminator showed up and announced that he did indeed have termites and that the wood on that corner of the house had been eaten through and would require repairs. The exterminator pushed on the wall and saw it give. The underpinnings and wall supports were in jeopardy. As I thought on this, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, "That is just like doubt." People don't realize that it doesn't take a terrible event like a flood or an earthquake or being told you have cancer to shake your faith and plant doubt in your heart all it takes is some tiny thing slowly eating away at the support beams of your faith. The outside surface can still appears quite good. There are occasional things that are like little dust trails that we brush off but what we don't know is that the greatest damage is being hidden under the rug or behind the curtains.
It is so easy to pride ourselves that we can withstand every affront to what we believe. The citizens of Germany in the 1930's, I feel sure, did not look ahead and realize that they could be lead down the dark road they would take during the second world war. I am sure, if you had questioned them, they would have assured you of their commitment to God and country. What they did not know is that the little lies so often told were like termites to their core beliefs. In a brief time, these same good and honorable people would close their collective eyes and hearts as millions of innocent men, women and children were murdered under their very noses. At some point they made a decision to not see what was going on behind the curtain or to sweep it all under the rug. Before they knew it, they were in so deep that the quicksand of deceit drug them into a bottomless pit of murdering or concealing the murders of the very people whom they had once considered friends. I am sure many had come to doubt what was really true and traded this truth for the lies they now embraced.
The doubt game has been played for a very long, long, long time. Many feel that no one could deceive them and may even think someone who falls prey to deception is just foolish. But many a lie will ride in on the back of truth. The scripture describes many as those who are ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. The reality is that doubt, like termites, does make inroads into our unsuspecting lives. Although the motives that we use to improve ourselves may seem rational and even positive we must take care that a lie doesn't enter there. Even the outside trappings may look the same, but the guy who is really pulling the strings is smarter than we are. It is vanity that makes us think we can outwit him. In the garden, Eve and Adam were easily deceived in the same way. They were asked if God had really said something. The first seed of doubt was planted when Eve stated God's words in her own words. She added the little phrase "or touch it." However, the real sell was, when the adversary of our lives told Eve that she would be a god if she ate of the tree. Well, who would not want to be a god? So many enjoy blaming Eve. But the reality was Eve and Adam were out of their league. They stepped into the trap with one move. They had no idea they were walking into a trap because if they had it wouldn't have been a trap. A rat doesn't recognize a trap, he just smells cheese or peanut butter. We should not think so highly of ourselves. One thing we all know is the end result. The relationship that every Christian should desire and one that was enjoyed by them on a daily basis was stripped away in a moment. They no longer could enjoy walking and talking with God. The door to His sweet presence was shut.
The lesson to be learned is this: Be very careful who or what you invite into your life. Cultivate your relationship with God by becoming a dedicated student of His Word. Keep your spiritual life fresh by times of daily prayer and devotion. Recognize that you have an adversary who goes about as a roaring lion looking for someone to devour and this is certainly not his only disguise. His primary goal is to destroy whatever faith you hold in God and he will use any means necessary to do so. Don't just judge something by how it looks or sounds. Take time to pull up the rug or pull back the curtain for what is really hidden there. For it just may be a trap to take you down the road to unbelief and that my Friend is the Real Truth.
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