James 1:14-15
Sleep was periodic, at best, last night. I went to the book of James two different times during the night and allowed the app to read to me until I slept. God brought to mind this old saying as I laid there listening, "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." I'm not sure where this is going nor the correlation between the verse and the saying....why God brought it to mind...eh....stranger things have happened than God weaving two things together...so here goes ...
The quote is from the best selling writer of novels, plays, and poems, Sir Walter Scott. It is a part of his epic poem, Marmion, A Tale of Flodden Field.
The meaning is simply what it says: When you lie or act dishonestly you are initiating problems and a domino affect of complications will eventually run out of control.
So going back to James....evil desires are defined as any desire that stems from the flesh, which is the sinful nature. 1 John 2:16 described it this way:
"For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world."
We so deceive ourselves by explaining away our evil desires as a new normal. Times have changed! Right? This is acceptable. Right? The Bible says THAT? Oh, that's not really what it means. That was a long time ago. We twist words to our own understanding, we become deceived and so it begins.
Deception is defined as the act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid.
Here is a great example of deceiving oneself: The little white lie. 😳 Nobody will get hurt. I'll actually save them from being hurt. I've been more of a part of "trying to spare someone's feelings" than I care to admit. And it wasn't really about sparing feelings....it was about sparing MY uncomfortableness in having to tell the truth. Just ever so slightly bending a detail....just a teeny bit. No one will know, feelings won't get hurt, I'm not uncomfortable, all is well, no harm no foul, it's all good. Life goes on. Phew...dodged a bullet.....maybe.....rarely 😕
But look again at that definition of deception - the act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid.
You know what is so dangerous? Sometimes it actually does "work" and when it does it gives a sense of confidence that we've escaped.... and the next time we do it again......oh that crafty serpent.
I've been dragged away by my own evil desire to escape being uncomfortable. Uncomfortable is described as feeling unease or awkwardness. So to escape it we fabricate our own story.
How foolish to think that evil desire will not give birth to sin.
Have you been here?
You repeat something told to you in confidence... no worries, you told a "trustworthy" person and they repeat it to a "trustworthy" person...and now what....how terribly uncomfortable it is when you're confronted with having repeated that which was told to you in confidence. Being confronted about breaking a confidence is one of the most uncomfortable positions one can ever be in. 😫You have two choices: 1. Own it 2. Deny it.
I learned very early in life the consequences of the tangled web. It snowballs until friendships are broken and families are destroyed.
Owning one's "big mouth" and humbling oneself is not only hard, it's embarrassing.....and the saddest part is, even when you own it, while reconciliation can happen, there is no guarantee of restoration.
Reconciliation is the removing of obstacles or the clearing of walls that are built in response to strife and disappointed expectations.
God's word says:
"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."Colossians 3:13
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
Ephesians 4:32
True but not easy....
Restoration is the improvement and expansion of the precious relationship.
So let's examine the two choices:
#1 Own it
With God's help relationships can be reconciled if both parties are
willing. And can I say, being part of biblical restoration is really beautiful. There's a humbling admission of wrong doing.....a heartfelt asking of forgiveness and finally restoration. And look at that definition of restoration. Improvement and expansion. Yes! Better than before!
On the other side....
#2 Deny it
There cannot be even a beginning of reconciliation or restoration if there is not truth. And not all relationships can be restored to what they once were. In some cases that's really sad and some it is God's plan. Sometimes relationships are unhealthy and God is removing you and moving you towards something else.. It doesn't mean we understand it and that it doesn't hurt. It actually can be quite painful. But again, if there isn't truth..there can't be restoration.
What we can do is this:
"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord."Hebrews 12:14
I've been on both sides. Where restoration has not happened and where God's plan of biblical restoration has played out just as he laid it out in his Word. One so painful and the other so incredibly beautiful.
Not to rewrite scripture ever...simply the weaving together of God's truth and the truth of an old saying:
Oh what a tangled web we weave when evil desire is conceived. Once conceived sin bears it's head and what once was alive is now dead.
I cannot testify enough to the blessings of sitting at his feet each morning. What an awesome God.
Be blessed today.
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