My 4 year old granddaughter loves a party. She views every occasion as an opportunity for a party. Her parties always include cookies or cupcakes, candles, balloons, and fancy hats. These occasions are fun and create memories that we will look on with fondness for years. One of the definitions of occasion is a convenient or favorable time, opportunity, or juncture. There are other occasions in our life which may be pleasurable but the lasting effects do not illicit happy memories. These are the occasions to sin. Sin will always present you with the opportunity to partake at a convenient time, but we must resist sin and not make it occasion.
We are all familiar with the phrase, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Advertisers have turned our desire to sin into a great marketing tool. Have we been guilty of thinking that we can live a different life on vacation then we do at home? Our minds tell us that nothing is off limits because we are on vacation. We can dress differently, view suggestive programming, visit questionable places; this is our time to “let go.” Unfortunately, Satan has once again sold us a lie, “What happens in Vegas does NOT stay in Vegas.” I have never heard of anyone gambling away everything they owned and leaving the debt in Vegas. The clandestine affair follows you back home and destroys your family. Every time we take an occasion to sin, we create memories and the consequences follow.
The Bible warns of these occasions. Galatians 5:13 tells us not to use our liberty for an occasion to the flesh. I Timothy 5:14 exhorts us to guard our actions and give no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. Romans 14:13 speaks of putting an occasion in front of our brother and causing him to fall. Thank God the Bible is not just full of warnings but full of promises. Galatians 5:13 continues, “But by love serve one another.” I Timothy 5 instructs us to follow every good work and the adversary cannot speak reproachfully and Romans tells us to seek peace and edify one another, thus avoiding an occasion for our brother to stumble. Finally, I John 2:10 says that if we abide in the light, there will be no occasion for stumbling.
Make an occasion of today. Bake cupcakes, light candles and wear party hats but make it an occasion to seek God’s will, edify your loved ones and instead of laying a stumbling block for your neighbor, lend a hand to help them step over it. Remember, what happens in Vegas will not stay in Vegas and what you do for God will for eternity.
