a Lesson in purity and holiness
Some years ago when I was a pastor, I walked into my church office
after a Sunday morning
service to find a sandwich bag on my desk containing three chocolate
brownies. Some
thoughtful and anonymous saint who knew my love for chocolate had
placed them there,
along with a piece of paper that had a short story written on it. I
immediately sat down
and began eating the first brownie as I read the following story:
Two teenagers asked their father if they could go the theater to watch
a movie that all
their friends had seen. After reading some reviews about the movie on
the internet, he
denied their request.
'Aw dad, why not?' they complained. 'It's rated PG-13, and we're both
older than thirteen!'
Dad replied: 'Because that movie contains nudity, unfaithfulness, adultery and portrays
immorality, which is something
that God hates, as being normal and acceptable behavior.'
'But dad, those are just very small parts of the movie! That's what
our friends who've seen
it have told us. The movie is two hours long and those scenes are just
a few minutes of the
total film! It's based on a true story, and good triumphs over evil,
and there are other
redeeming themes like courage and self-sacrifice. Even the Christian
movie review websites
say that!'
'My answer is 'no,' and that is my final answer. You are welcome to
stay home tonight,
invite some of your friends over, and watch one of the good videos we
have in our home
collection. But you will not go and watch that film. End of
discussion.'
The two teenagers walked dejectedly into the family room and slumped
down on the couch.
As they sulked, they were surprised to hear the sounds of their father
preparing some-
thing in the kitchen. They soon recognized the wonderful aroma of
brownies baking in the
oven, and one of the teenagers said to the other, 'Dad must be feeling
guilty, and now
he's going to try to make it up to us with some fresh brownies. Maybe
we can soften him
with lots of praise when he brings them out to us and persuade him to
let us go to that
movie after all.'
About that time I began eating the second brownie from the sandwich
bag and wondered if
there was some connection to the brownies I was eating and the
brownies in the story. I
kept reading...
The teens were not disappointed. Soon their father appeared with a
plate of warm brownies
which he offered to his kids. They each took one. Then their father
said, 'Before you eat,
I want to tell you something: I love you both so much.'
The teenagers smiled at each other with knowing glances. Dad was
softening. 'That is why
I've made these brownies with the very best ingredients. I've made
them from scratch.
Most of the ingredients are even organic. The best organic flour. The
best free-range
eggs. The best organic sugar. Premium vanilla and chocolate.' The
brownies looked mouth-
watering, and the teens began to become a little impatient with their
dad's long speech.
'But I want to be perfectly honest with you. There is one ingredient I
added that is not
usually found in brownies. I got that ingredient from our own back
yard. But you needn't
worry, because I only added the tiniest bit of that ingredient to your
brownies. The
amount of the portion is practically insignificant. So go ahead, take
a bite and let me
know what you think.' 'Dad, would you mind telling us what that
mystery ingredient is
before we eat?' 'Why? The portion I added was so small. Just a
teaspoonful. You won't
even taste it.' 'Come on, dad, just tell us what that ingredient is.'
'Don't worry! It
is organic, just like the other ingredients.' 'Dad!' 'Well, OK, if you
insist. That
secret ingredient is organic...dog poop.'
I immediately stopped chewing that second brownie and I spit it out
into the waste
basket by my desk I continued reading, now fearful of the paragraphs
that still
remained.
Both teens instantly dropped their brownies back on the plate and
began inspecting
their fingers with horror. 'DAD!Why did you do that? You've tortured
us by making
us smell those brownies cooking for the last half hour, and now you
tell us that
you added dog poop! We can't eat these brownies!' 'Why not? The amount
of dog poop
is very small compared to the rest of the ingredients. It won't hurt
you. It's
been cooked right along with the other ingredients. You won't even
taste it. It has
the same consistency as the brownies. Go ahead and eat!' 'No,
Dad...NEVER!'
'And that is the same reason I won't allow you to go watch that movie.
You won't
tolerate a little dog poop in your brownies, so why should you
tolerate a little
immorality in your movies? We pray that God will not lead us unto
temptation, so
how can we in good conscience entertain ourselves with something that
will
imprint a sinful image in our minds that will lead us into temptation
long after
we first see it?'
I discarded what remained of the second brownie as well as the entire
untouched
third brownie. What had been irresistible a minute ago had become
detestable. And
only because of the very slim chance that what I was eating was
slightly polluted.
(Surely it wasn't...but I couldn't convince myself.)
What a good lesson about purity! Why do we tolerate any sin? On the
day of the
Passover, the Israelites were commanded to remove every bit of leaven
from their
homes. Sin is like leaven - a little bit leavens the whole lump (1
Cor. 5:6).
Jesus, 'our Passover' (1 Cor. 5:7), and sin, don't mix.
'Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you are not willing to
move
your feet.'
