KEEP YOUR HAND OUT OF THE COOKIE JAR
R. Kent Hughes, in Preaching the Word, Ephesians, The Mystery of the Body of Christ, Wheaton, Illinois, Crossway Books, 1990, pp. 155-156 shared the following:
A
little boy’s mother had just baked a fresh batch of
cookies and placed them in the cookie jar, giving instructions that no one
touch them until after dinner. But it
was not long until she heard the lid of the jar move, and she called out, “My
son, what are you doing?” To
which a meek voice called back, “My hand is in the
cookie jar resisting temptation!”
The
fact is, no one can resist temptation with his or her hand in the cookie jar.
There are open cookie jars all around us. The
ubiquitous cookie jar of our culture is the television, dwelling in the heart
of nearly every home in America. Turn
it off, and the goodies are present in an open magazine or a billboard. There
are living cookie jars everywhere, inviting passersby to taste their wares.
It
would be so easy....But
when these wares are removed from the jar, their sweetness soon turns to rot,
and the decay is shared by the hand that plucked them, resulting in gangrene of
the soul.
Resisting the temptation to be tempted is “Keeping our hands out
of the cookie jar.” It is something that each Christian needs to
learn how to do. The Bible gives us many
pointers on how to resist all temptations.
Some of these tips for “keeping our hands out of the cookie jar” are found in Ephesians 5:1-7.
Ephesians 5:1-7
1 Be
ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
2 And
walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
3 But
fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named
among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither
filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but
rather giving of thanks.
5 For
this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is
an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Let
no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the
wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be
not ye therefore partakers with them.
