Common Sense went “Pouf!” quickly
I knew exactly what I wanted–a simple, white stepstool to use in my closet. I decided on a price range and intended to stick to it. Feeling like a savvy consumer, I logged onto Amazon and confidently used the price filters, so there would be no temptations. Soon, white stepstools filled the screen. Perfect!
Then I spotted it under “Customers who viewed this item also viewed.” It was a beautiful, white Moroccan leather pouf. I instantly fell in love. It would look perfect in my closet. And how practical! The pouf would give me a comfy place to sit. Why I wanted to sit in my closet, I’m not sure, but I know I had my reasons. I imagined sitting on the pouf while slipping on a pair of high-heeled pumps (never mind that I don’t wear high heels, they just seemed to fit the fantasy of the pouf).
Then my eyes fell on the price. Instant fantasy squasher! I squared my shoulders and slipped back to reality and my simple, white stepstool.
But Amazon wasn’t to be defeated so easily. They suggested another pouf, this one closer to my price range. It wouldn’t hurt to look, right? I clicked. This pouf didn’t have the hand-sewn detail that the first one sported. But, it really wasn’t that much more than I’d intended to spend…
However, it didn’t inspire any fantasies.
No problem. Amazon was ready with a third option. I clicked on yet another white pouf. It nudged slightly closer to the dream. And, the price was just a bit more than I’d planned to spend.
Wait a minute.
The price was a little bit more than the price of the first pouf, not the stepstool. It was actually quite a bit more than the price I’d originally planned to spend. Common sense asserted itself. The pouf was huge. It would take up the entire floor of my side of the closet, even if I did fudge a bit onto my hubby’s side. I envisioned balancing on top of the pouf, while trying to put a leg in my jeans. Even if the price of the pouf didn’t give me pause, possible hospital bills did. Not to mention explaining to my husband that it was actually called a pouf.
Falling into the Rabbit Hole of Sin
Amazon had dragged me toward a seductive rabbit hole, and I’d almost fallen in. The slippery slope reminded me of the slippery slope of sin.
- It’s just a little white lie.
- It’s just an innocent flirtation.
- It’s just an interesting human-interest story.
But that little white lie turns into a major deception. The innocent flirtation becomes a full-fledged affair. The interesting human-interest story gets back to someone, and they are devastated.
And we end up blinking and wondering how we got into such a mess. Colossians 3:17 tells us, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
WWJD bracelets may be out of fashion, but the thinking behind them isn’t.
A friend once told me that when her children were little, the family lived in a house with a driveway on an incline. Their children weren’t allowed to ride their bikes into the street. But the rule was: Don’t start down the incline, because once you start, you can’t stop.
Sin is like that. You can’t wait until you’re knee-deep in it to say no. You’ve got to put on the brakes before the deception, before the affair, before the gossip.
Would you say it in front of Jesus? Would you do it in front of Jesus (or your spouse?)
We’re all guilty of nearing the slippery slope, of thinking, “There’s no harm…”
But there is always harm in sin.
Keep me in your thoughts. I’m buying cute little baskets next!
- Blonde Brunette Ambition - November 1, 2019
- The Medicine Cabinet of the Heart - January 9, 2019
- From Groovy to Middle-Aged (and Back Again!) - June 12, 2018
