STAGES IN A FALL- THE UNQUANTIFIABLE LOSS
I was eating in the canteen in my faculty many years ago. One of my colleagues who had issues with me walked in and made a very strong statement. He said, “See this class pastor who has skeletons in his cupboard”. I smiled but did not allow the matter to rest without confrontation. I responded and said, “Please, right here in public, would you be kind enough to state the skeletons I have hidden in my cupboard”. He kept quiet and could not say a word.
Listen to me: If you strike a deal with the devil, you can never win. It is a loss from the beginning. No matter what the devil offers you, he is already or has already stolen more than you have given him.
There is nothing he gives you on a platter of gold. Nothing! What can you give in exchange for your soul? If you lose your soul in a sinful exchange, it is a colossal loss.
What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul? Put the whole world on a scale and put a soul on the same scale, the soul outweighs the world.
This is what Judah did not realise. This negotiation for pleasure was a total loss on his part. He was trying to be smart but, in his desperation, he had lost more than could be imagined.
And he said, “I will send a young goat from the flock.” So, she said, “Will you give me a pledge till you send it?” Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?” So, she said, “Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him.
Genesis 38:17-18 NKJV
Did you notice the things she asked for? The signet and cord are his seal. It is his identity. The staff is a picture of his authority and influence.
Both are quite instructive. When you fall into sin, your sense of identity is distorted, and your influence and authority is lost.
Do you know that famous story of parents who kept telling their children how brilliant they were in school to challenge their children to perform better until their report cards were stumbled upon?
Sin began a field play in David’s family after he slept with Bathsheba. Amnon raped Tamar. David heard about it but there was nothing he could do about it. He had lost his signet and his staff. He simply kept quiet. Absalom went ahead to kill Amnon in bitterness. Again, David could do nothing about it. It became a mess.
Why on earth will you lose authority, influence, and identity because of a silly pleasure of a few minutes? If you weigh the consequences of sin, you will never go near it. Never!
Hear the words of wisdom from the book of Proverbs:
Don’t even go near the door of her house unless you want to fall into her seduction. In disgrace, you will relinquish your honor to another, and all your remaining years will be squandered— given over to the cruel one. Why would you let strangers take away your strength while the labors of your house go to someone else? For when you grow old you will groan in anguish and shame as sexually transmitted diseases consume your body. And then finally you’ll admit that you were wrong and say, “If only I had listened to wisdom’s voice and not stubbornly demanded my own way, because my heart hated to be told what to do!
Proverbs 5:8-12 TPT
You are a King!
You are a Priest!
You need authority and influence to reign well. If you lose both, you become useless!
Someone is saying right now, “It is not a big deal, I can get away with it”, here is the word of the Lord to you:
Why didn’t I take seriously the warning of my wise counselors? Why was I so stupid to think that I could get away with it? Now I’m totally disgraced, and my life is ruined! I’m paying the price— for the people of the congregation are now my judges.”
Proverbs 5:13-14 TPT
May you not use the remaining days of your life to nurse a crisis!
May we all finish well.
© temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa