If you Google “blurring the lines,” you will see the following definition: “If you blur the lines between two things, you make it harder to tell them apart, categorize them, or differentiate them.” This happens in our lives when we do something we think isn’t “that bad.” Typically it is something we can easily justify and quite often something we think we can handle on our own. However, one decision turns into several and before we know it, we are doing things we would have never thought we would do. We are trapped by our own decisions. The shame of what we have done keeps us from asking God and others for forgiveness and ultimately, the life God has for us. We are trapped.
John tells us in Revelation 17 “I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls …" The woman is representative of a power that promises all that pleasure can bring you. She is not only beautiful ... she is seductive and deceptive. She allures us into anything that will draw us away from intimacy with God. Her goal is to entice us with things that may look good but can never make us happy. The problem is that although she is appealing, she is not satisfying. Her beauty will draw us in and then once the lines have been blurred, she will trap us. The very thing that seemed fun will be the thing that will bury us in shame.
In order to keep from blurring the lines, we need to be clear on what God says. Proverbs 5:1-2 says, “My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretions and your lips may preserve knowledge.” Decisions we make daily may seem small but as we learn in Revelation, the enemy is looking for a way “in.” We are warned to guard our hearts and continually draw clear lines of distinction between what is truth, good, right, pure, lovely … and what is sin. Doing so will give a level of clarity and conviction for this life and the next.
This Week: Ask God daily to help you see where you have started blurring the lines between what God says and what the world says. Then make a list of the things that you think of and look at areas where you need to repent and turn to the truth. Take Proverbs 5:1-2 on it this week. Commit to reading the Bible daily so you can be clear on what God says is best for you.
-Dr. J