Bible
Study: Ephesians 1, 11 to 14 and Luke 12, 1 to 7.
When last
did you hear the following phrases? “Hey, do not worry, see no one is watching.”
“I bet you, people will not know.” “Trust me, don’t you trust me again. I swear
I will not tell anyone.” “Nobody will ever know that this ever happened.” “This
is just between us, okay.” “See I will come when no one is at home.” “Don’t worry
jare, just relax, nothing dey happen.”
These are
very common statements. Isn’t it? we hear them said almost on a daily basis.
And they are statements of assurance especially when some evil is been done or
about to be done. We know fully well the difference between right and wrong but
it is almost as if we prefer to do what is wrong always. Yet, we do everything
possible to prevent people from ever getting to know the wrong things we do. This
is a common human dilemma, a sickness that affects almost everyone you know
including me, a sickness that Jesus condemned in today’s Gospel passage.
Luke 12, 1
to 3 states: “Beware of the leaven of
the Pharisees, which is HYPOCRISY. Nothing is covered up that will not be
revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in
the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private
rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.”
There is
so much truth contained in what Jesus warns us about, so much so that we see it
happening everyday. For instance the internet never gets tired of receiving
viral pictures, videos and even chats that were supposed to be private; things
that were sent with the note: “FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.” As Jesus says, we can never
win when it comes to keeping secrets. Whether by chance or by accident, one way
or another, the things we thought we did in secret become spoken about freely. Those
telephone calls which we had to run into the bathroom to make while whispering,
those texts messages we had to type and quickly delete, those “funny” social
media chats will eventually come to light some day.
Come to
think of it, is it not easier to avoid evil than to muster energy, time and
even hard earned money trying to cover up your tracks later? Let us reason this
together. There are certain things we cannot do in public. True or false? There
are certain things we cannot and will never do before our children. True or
false? There are things we cannot and will never do in front of a camera. True
or false? There are certain things we cannot do before our boss or someone in
authority. Isn’t it? How come we so easily RESTRAIN ourselves from evil when we
know that people are either watching or listening or will watch it later on?
The answer
is FEAR. As much as we take pleasure in evil, we are too scrared to give anyone
the impression that we are not as holy as they think we are. We are afraid of
our losing our self-worth, our personal integrity and respect.
If our
fear of public perception or people is enough to restrain us from evil
regardless of the height of the temptation, how come we are not so scared of
God’s perception or of the fact that God is constantly watching over us?
Jesus says
it all: “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after
that have no more that they can do…. fear him who, after he has killed, has
power to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear him! … Every one who
acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the
angels of God; but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels
of God. Luke 12, 4 to 9.
Dear friends, change begins from the INSIDE; the secret chambers, the
inner caucus, change begins by washing the inside of the plate, the cup and the
spoon, change begins by avoiding evil even in secret not just because others are
watching but because it is evil and does not define who we are. As St. Paul
tells us, we Christians are a special breed of human beings. We are blessed
with every spiritual blessings, chosen and destined to be holy and blameless,
destined and appointed to live for the praise of God’s glory. We are so holy
that even in the most secrets of all places, we remain pure and we continue to
make God’s presence felt everywhere we go.
Let us
pray:
Lord
Jesus, cleanse me from inside out that I may live by the Spirit. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.
Fr. Abu
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