SEEING THE UNSEEN by JOE BEAM

Author:JOE BEAM
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Howard Books
Published: 2003-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

UNPERCEIVED DANGER

When evil beings use pleasure to seduce you into sin, they usually aim the temptation at some unprotected area of your life. Frontal attacks are too easily seen for what they are. Sneaking in through an unguarded gate works better. Unprotected areas are the parts of your life where you don’t feel weak but in reality are.

Consider the process that led Gene to call me with his bizarre prayer request.

In becoming best friends with Mark, Gene spent time with him and, naturally, with Gloria. While he found her attractive, his conscience didn’t warn him to avoid her. Gloria posed no threat to his spirituality; he enjoyed her company but only thought of her as Mark’s wife. Similarly, Gloria enjoyed his company but didn’t fear the developing relationship with Gene because she loved Mark. Gene never made any advances or implied in any way that he wanted her. She felt herself strong, needing no protection or wariness. But in reality, she did need protection, because Satan aimed his attack at a weakness she didn’t acknowledge. Her marriage to Mark, though enjoyable, didn’t fulfill her needs as a woman.

Mark loved to hunt and fish, spending much of his leisure time with his friends in the woods. Gloria, loving him, never complained. She wanted him to enjoy himself. She searched for things to fill her time while he was gone but often found herself longing for someone to talk with, to share life with. Her lack of fulfillment didn’t scare her or Mark because she never admitted to herself how lonely she had become. But over time, Gene and Gloria discovered more about each other and found a mutual attraction based on mutual interests, driven by unrecognized mutual needs. Gene had time to sit and talk with Gloria about nothing at all; he had the time for Gloria that Mark didn’t.

The attraction grew slowly, so slowly that neither of them perceived the danger. Eventually they began to talk more, hiding their extra time spent with each other from Mark. If they had done that kind of thing at the outset, guilt from their Spirit-controlled consciences would have warned them, stopping them. But it happened slowly, giving the sinful nature time to grow stronger than the Spirit-controlled conscience. Gradually, she realized her life focused more on Gene than Mark. She still loved Mark, but now she loved Gene more. Neither she nor Gene wanted to hurt Mark, but neither were they willing to sacrifice the pleasure they found in each other.

Now it was too late for them to see the sinfulness of their actions. Through master manipulation from evil forces, they had allowed their sinful natures to slowly take over their consciousness without their consciences being alerted. Desire won over Spirit.

Gradually they slipped into the pleasure principle, until their minds were set on the things of the sinful nature and not on the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5). Now their consciousness couldn’t admit the sinfulness of the relationship. To do that meant stopping the relationship, yielding to the Spirit’s control of the conscience.

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