Entertain Sin and You’ve Invited Satan to the Party

Matthew 26:41
“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Divine Revelation

Most of us would not intentionally invite Satan to anything, much less a party with family and/or friends. However, when we entertain sin at our get-togethers, we invite him in. We invite him into our conversations that entertain lude jokes, gossip, and unwholesome verbiage. We invite him in when we eat/drink a little more than we should or indulge in behavior unbecoming of Christ. Beloved, where sin is, he is there also.

As a guest, the enemy loves bringing lots of gifts too! Gifts of strife, anger, lust, immorality, and indulgence, to name a few. Do we see them as such? No, not really. Why? They’re wrapped in the fleshly trappings of human entitlements such as life (take what you can because you deserve it), liberty (do whatever feels good or right to you), and the pursuit of happiness (be happy no matter what the cost). Sadly, these rights that are given to us by God for our good, have been turned into justifications that serve our fleshly nature.

Satan is also never too busy to come either. Even if he is unavailable, there are plenty of demonic assistants he can send in his place to represent him. Unfortunately, Jesus is usually the last one to be invited to the party or we only ask Him to come to clean up the mess after the party is over and the damage is done. Then there are times He’s not invited at all because we see Him as a cosmic killjoy that will rain on our parade. After all, the gifts He brings are not as entertaining to our flesh as Satan’s are. They don’t indulge our rights, nor do they validate the desires of our flesh.

Yet the gifts of the enemy that promise to deliver happiness, NEVER DO! Just ask those who party like there’s no tomorrow. When the party is over, the next day is often filled with a sea of regrets, a nasty hangover, and sometimes a total stranger in our bed.

However, the gifts Jesus brings satisfy the deepest needs of the human soul for love, acceptance, and approval that far exceed the temporal pleasures of the enemy. His gifts also offer encouragement, hope, and a sense of well-being that does not fade with time nor is it dependent on others. The gifts of God are love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. They come wrapped in humility and lowliness, and because these attributes are repulsive to our flesh, they’re the gifts that most often remain unopened.

Divine Challenge

How can we, who have a personal relationship with Christ, invite Satan in and willfully entertain sin by indulging the deeds of our flesh? I’m not so sure we can. Beloved, as long as we entertain the lies that; sinful behavior is still an option, that we are still in control, or that Jesus is either a guest or a party crasher, Satan will have an open invitation into our lives.

Call to Action

However, if we will embrace the truth that; we have been freed from the power of sin, that Jesus is the Lord of our life, that His way is the best, and finally, that Satan is our enemy, not our friend. Then Satan may try to sneak into our parties, but he won’t hang around for long, and his gifts will be the ones that remain unopened.Father, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Lord, bring conviction to our hearts when we entertain sin so we will confess it to You and repent! Help us to “Submit to God, resist the devil so he will flee.” In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!