Satan Is Subtle & Sneaky

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The first time I remember recognizing the subtleness and sneakiness of Satan through television, I was about 10 yrs. old and was spending the summer with my Grandma and Grandpa Sublett in Bridgeport, Texas. It was blazing hot outside, so I was hanging out indoors. At 12:30, I decided to hangout in the living room with Grandma. Now everyone who knew my Grandma, knew that when 12:30 hit, she would be in the living room, AC on high, lunch on her food tray, iced tea glass full, sitting back in her favorite chair, with As The World Turns on the TV. Everyone also knew that talking or causing noise in the living room during her ATWT time was absolutely forbidden and punishable by Grandma’s seldom seen fiery temper.

I normally didn’t care for any of the soap operas and Grandma didn’t either, except for ATWT. That time each Monday-Friday was holy ground and only fools trespassed noisily in the living room. I sat there quietly that day throughout the entire ATWT time. When it ended, it was finally safe to talk to Grandma. “Grandma, can I ask you a question?” She said I could. “Why were you rooting for Bob and Lisa to get together? Isn’t Bob married to Kim? If Bob and Lisa get together, won’t that be adultery? You aren’t in favor of adultery, are you?” Grandma explained, “Well, Mike, you see, its just a tv show, not real life. Rooting for them to get together on tv doesn’t make me approve of adultery in real life.” I replied, “Oh, ok. I just wondered.”

Since that day I’ve had 60+ years to observe the impact of “tv lives” on “real life.” My conclusion is that whatever we root for on tv, we will eventually approve of in real life. That has especially been true in the realm of morality. For Christians that is a deadly problem.

You see, as Christians, we are supposed to rub off on the world around us, not the world rub off on us.

For decades, I can’t think of a single tv program that has not given total approval to sex before marriage, living together, etc. Impact? Far too many Christians are now offended by the application of the word “fornication” to these shows. Don’t think so? The next time you are watching a movie or a tv program, when two unmarried people “get together”, just point at the tv and say, “Now remember, that’s fornication.” You may find yourself having to say that several times throughout a movie or tv program. I guarantee that some of the people where you are will insist on your silence by saying, “OK, we got your point, now hush.” That might even be true in your own family.

For decades the same overall tv approval has not only been given to “adultery”, but especially over the past 10 years, to “homosexuality” as well. There are very, very few current tv programs that don’t have homosexuals in major parts of the storyline. Result? Far too many Christians are dangerously “soft” on the sins of adultery and homosexuality, not only in “tv life”, but in “real life” as well.  Don’t think so? Let’s see.

How would you respond if your church leadership announced that:

1-they had reached out many times to a young unmarried couple who were members, concerning them living together;

2-the couple insisted that they didn’t feel like getting married was necessary;

3-therefore the leadership was bringing that couple to the church for special visitation from the church family to encourage them to get married;

4- they were hoping for repentance of their immorality/fornication so that the church wouldn’t be forced to disfellowship them from the church family.

Again, how would you respond? That action is perfectly in line with the “command” of Jesus in Mt. 18, as well as Paul’s “command” in 1 Cor. 5.

The same would hold true if it was a member who persisted in an adulterous affair or a member who was a practicing homosexual or lesbian. How would you respond to those situations?

Would you shout, “LOVE THEM!”. Well, of course, that is true. So then are we to love them or obey the commands in Mt. 18 and 1 Cor. 5? YES! And YES! It isn’t either/or, it is do both. If one of your church family is in an immoral relationship (sex while unmarried, adultery, homosexuality), what do the Scriptures teach about their salvation? Saved or lost? If you know anything about your Bible, you know that they are lost. Those who are immoral will not inherit the Kingdom. So is it the loving thing to be silent when a member has wandered away and is lost or is it to obey the commands of Mt. 18 and 1 Cor. 5? When someone is lost in immorality, silence is the least loving thing a person can do. Its like withholding medicine from a sick person.

So what’s the point of this article? Has the world’s view of morality rubbed off on you? Do Biblical truths on morality seem out of line to you? Too harsh? Mean? Unchristian? The truths of Scripture are never mean, overly harsh or out of line and certainly not ever unchristian. What makes them appear that way is that our views on morality have been compromised by Satan’s subtle sneakness. And once that happens, we too are in danger. God bless.