“Someone has also said the devil has another pair of glasses he places on us after we sin. These glasses make sin appear so large that it cannot be forgiven.  If you are reading this today, have fallen into sin, and are despairing in this way, consider one last illustration. Though this post is not about the eclipse, let’s use it illustratively.”

No, this post is not about looking at the eclipse.

Rather, someone once illustrated temptation in this way. When you are being tempted, the devil sets on your nose a pair of false glasses. These glasses make the sin look so small that you view engaging in it as trivial.

How does Satan fool us with lies so that we believe that committing sin will be inconsequential? Here are five of the common ways he distorts our spiritual vision with his lies during temptation.

He focuses our attention on the immediate pleasure rather than the pain of sin. A juicy worm floating in the water looks tasty to a fish, but when it bites and the hook is set the pain makes it thrash. In the same way, thinking of the nice things one can buy with stolen money or the fun to be had with another’s wife can make sin look so pleasurable. But the inevitable pain that will follow of spending time in jail for theft or facing the vengeance of a jealous husband is not considered.

He makes us look myopically at sin as a merely private matter. Many a person thinks that sins such as viewing pornography, bowing before a household idol, holding a secret grudge, gossiping with a close friend, masturbating, or wasting time are merely personal matters and do not concern others. Yet each of these sins and others like them are not only seen by God, offending him, but also work themselves out in the harm of others. The guy watching pornography is ignoring and belittling his wife while supporting an illicit industry that enslaves women; the idol worshiper is misleading his watching children; the grudge develops into factions; the gossip gets carried to others; the self-satisfying sexual act creates further selfishness that hurts others and leads to the objectifying of women; the lost time could have been used to serve and show love to others. Sin may be done in private but it never stays there. As Jesus said, even whispered words get shouted out on housetops.

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