My dad’s mother, an immigrant to this country, spent most of her time in the United States living in Binghamton, New York. Beside working as a nurse at a local hospital, my grandmother rented out the second floor of their house which consisted of three separate apartments. After her three sons graduated from college, Joanna continued to work at this hospital but left these spare rooms vacant. During my childhood, these upper rooms provided an excellent place for hide and go seek. Due to squeaky wooden floors, you were forced to tip toe, spying through open keyholes in antique doors. From this vantage point, you could check to see who was coming or wait until someone revealed their hiding place.
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak,” Matthew 26:41.
Prior to high tech security systems with hidden cameras, most modern front doors contained a peek hole to look through before opening the door. This safety feature protected children from unwanted strangers like the classic scenes from Home Alone and Uncle Buck. However, these peek holes were not always used for wholesome reasons. Over the years, some have fallen prey to voyeurism, using binoculars, open key holes and peek holes to feed fleshly desires. Those who give into these ungodly desires open the door for pornography that leads to reprobate minds. While each individual is vulnerable to different types of temptation, Jesus urged his own disciples to watch and pray so that the Holy Spirit will override earthly desires.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you, James 4:7.
Jesus’ earthly brother chimes in with his own advice. In the first chapter to first century believers, James 1:13-15 claims that temptation is not God’s fault. Rather, the process of giving into sin is a series of compromises, often subtle that lead careless souls on the verge of going beyond boundaries defined by the Bible. Thus, James commands his readers to resist the Devil by submitting yourself to God. Meanwhile, the apostle Paul adds another piece of this spiritual puzzle, 1 Corinthians 10:13, when tempted look for the way out of your predicament. If there is one song that demonstrates the danger that lurks on the other side of a keyhole it’s the children’s classic O Be Careful Little Eyes. May this blog inspire you to avoid taking a second glance so that the urge to sin is quickly broken by eyes fixated on the cross of Jesus, Hebrews 12:1-4.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 