A little boy’s mother baked a batch of cookies and placed them in a cookie jar, instructing her son not to touch them until after dinner. Soon she heard the lid of the jar move, and she called out, “Son, what are you doing?” A meek voice called back, “My hand is in the cookie jar resisting temptation.” It’s funny to think of a person trying to resist temptation with their “hand in the cookie jar.” This is as much a challenge in our culture today, as it was for the Ephesians.
There were all kinds of open “cookie jars” in Ephesus. One was sexual immorality. Paul realized that illicit sexual activity was an enormous problem for new Gentile Christians in the early church to overcome. They didn’t have an accepted social standard with regard to sex.
Paul wanted the Ephesians to defy their environment and live out their identity as God’s holy children. So he reminded them that sexual immorality—adultery, premarital sex, pornography, homosexual liaisons, prostitution, sexual abuse, and any other sexual perversion—was incongruent with what it meant to be imitators of Jesus (Ephesians 5:3). If they ignored this clear warning, they would miss God’s best and experience His discipline (Ephesians 5:6).
As believers in Jesus, it’s God’s will for us to stand out, or be holy, especially in a culture where sexual immorality is an accepted behavior. Standing out as light for Christ means appropriating God’s Word (Psalm 119:9), controlling our bodies (1 Thessalonians 4:1-7), intentionally resisting temptation (Proverbs 7:24-25), living in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), and enjoying sex within its proper limits (1 Corinthians 7:2,9). Let’s keep our hand out of the cookie jar!
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Genesis 43:1-34
More:
Read Genesis 39:1-18 and see how Joseph handled the cookie jar of sexual temptation.
Next:
Why is it such a challenge to resist sexual temptation and immorality in our culture? How can knowing our identity as God’s children help us resist sin?
Gary Shultz on January 27, 2015 at 6:54 am
Man, that cookie looks good and I’m hungry, really. You got it right because that’s the way it goes, sometimes i spend most of my effort resisting. Studying and reviewing the presents of God helps keep the mind more clearly focused. Like eating cookies, it will catch up to you and the results are not good. Keeping a long view brings perspective.
marvin williams on January 27, 2015 at 11:13 am
Gary, you are too funny. You are so right about practicing the presence of God. When we do, it makes all the difference in the world. God becomes greater and more satisfying than any temptation. Thanks for your comment.
street on January 27, 2015 at 11:44 am
the long view brings perspective, but truth and love bring power.
alli1 on January 27, 2015 at 9:49 am
I miss the 50’s while secrets sins arent good, our culture ALWAYS talks about it. maybe if we were always talking about people wouldnt always be thinking about it.
marvin williams on January 27, 2015 at 11:17 am
alli1, thanks for your comment. I really appreciate what you had to say. Sometimes we seem to glorify secret sins instead of being broken over them. At other times, we say nothing about them and Satan uses the secrecy of the secret sins to build strongholds in our lives. James 5:16 says we should confess our sins to one another so that we might experience healing. Let’s not glorify, but confess and turn from those sins that entangle us. Again, thanks for adding your wisdom here.
alli1 on January 27, 2015 at 9:51 am
werent talking about I mean. the church needs to talk more so maybe the world will talk less and marry more.
Mike Wittmer on January 27, 2015 at 1:07 pm
Good word, Marvin. 2 Tim. 2:22 says “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts.” Even walking away isn’t fast enough!
ChrisG on January 28, 2015 at 1:09 am
I am struggling with almost all sexual immoralities listed in the passage above, I want to experience God’s love but I am going away from Him daily… please pray for me to be free from this strangling experience I am going through, thanks!
conmeo on March 11, 2015 at 9:00 am
ChrisG, my prayer would be for you to continue to accept Our God’s Blessing Forgiveness and His Healing. You may not know this yet but if in fact you are away from Him it is only in your mind, not in your heart. As one who has been where you are (or were) know this truth,,,He has NOT been away from you….EVER. Several years ago, in similar circumstances, I lost everything worldly to me, wife, children, home, job, my church family, friends etc. I am ever grateful to God for people like Marvin Williams and all the saints given to us through ODJ who through God’s inspiration pass His wonderful gifts to us….day in and day out. Even through times of suicidal contemplation, somehow, I knew God was with me even though I was not worthy of being in His presence. Praise Him for all things. May God’s Peace continue to surround you.