Day 2808 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Jeremiah 3:24 NIV

From the very dawn of civilization, mankind has managed to somehow fail to learn one of the most crucial truths that exists. The problem that created original sin continues to be the problem that corrupts and destroys humanity today. They say that if you don't learn from the past that you're destined to repeat it. Well, we've clearly not learned our lesson because we simply fail to understand how an apple can teach us anything. And so we’re repeating that same downfall over and over again.

That lesson is that what we consume may also end up consuming us.

It seems that every single year, without fail, this idea starts spinning around my mind during the lead-up to this holiday that many are celebrating today. Flipping through the channels and seeing all the ads for all the scary movies. Watching a show and seeing a commercial for some new horror flick that's coming out. Scrolling around the interwebs and seeing stories and messages and advertisements and reminders that this is that time of the year to get your ghoul on.

What's amazing to me is that, as a kid, halloween was exciting. You get to dress up in a costume and stay up late and go around getting free candy just for saying a couple of words at the neighbor's door. There are parties and fun little events at school. It was just this chance to do something different and have a different kind of fun. Looking back, it always seemed perfectly harmless. But somewhere along the line, it became about much more than princesses and cowboys and candy.

All of that childhood imagination gave way to a more sinister pursuit. We grew out of the fairy tale costumes and orange plastic buckets, but suddenly found ourselves in our world that has more than candy to offer. What I once enjoyed has now become something that terrifies me deeply. Not because I’m scared of the wickedness in our world. But because I know just how fragile a child’s innocence really is. I know that a world of some really messed up stuff is just a remote control away. I know that the ones that we’re supposed to be protecting and guiding and pointing in the right direction are being raised in a world where filth is more welcome than ever before.

I’m terrified for kids these days because I know that society has crossed so many lines in recent years that should have never been crossed. I’m terrified that they’re going to come across these slasher films and stories about wickedness and ideas sold them by a truly warped world and be led off down a road they don’t belong down. As wickedness becomes more welcome and praised, the downfall just continues. But all along the way, we just keep convincing ourselves it’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with watching scary movies or pretending to be ghosts and goblins. It’s all just fun for the kids, right?

What terrifies me now that I've gotten older and started seeing things from a different point of view is just how harmless I thought it was. As kids, we're growing up in a world where we just trust. We trust that nobody will lead us wrong, we don't even really care to grasp the concept of right and wrong and just how drastic that difference is between them. We largely just exist as if life is a game, and well, the world in which we live does very well at furthering that idea.

Our society is one in which we consume whatever we can find. We just want to be entertained, to have fun, to break away from the monotony of our daily lives and be able to enjoy different things. We simply don't care about what we allow into our minds and our eyes and our ears and our hearts, we just want to enjoy life. Problem is that, in a world filled with some incredibly impressive filth, the things that we have to find enjoyment in are impressively dangerous.

You see, the world loves to downplay the dangers of sin. For the most part, most people live as if sin doesn't even exist. They just float around doing as they please without stopping to worry about whether or not what they're doing or saying or watching or listening to is actually good. Again, we just want to pass the time and do so in the most thrilling and exciting way possible.

But the issue is that once we start pushing the envelope in order to appease our lust for excitement, we're going to have to keep pushing it. What was once kind of edgy and maybe even slightly questionable becomes boring and dull. The rush of endorphins shrinks and so we go off in search of something a little more intense to bring us that thrill again. And little by little, we just keep inching down that road of darkness and depravity in this constant search for something that excites us.

There's a big difference between Scooby Doo solving a mystery and some jerk with a hatchet torturing people.

But that difference is skewed when we slowly adjust to it over the course of time. Sadly, when you live in a world that has idolized entertainment and excitement as much as we have, people don't notice the little concessions they're making along the way. They don't realize that they're maybe going a little too far in the wrong direction because all they can see is the thrill and the hunt and the need for something to pacify their boredom with mundanity.

See, Adam and Eve weren't lacking. They had plenty to see and enjoy and consume within the Garden of Eden. But, as they say, curiosity killed the cat. Or in this case, curiosity killed the innocence. Just stay away from that tree. That was God's only request. Please don't eat that fruit. Have as much of anything else as you can get. Partake of everything the Garden has to offer, just don't eat that apple.

I guess we just want to know what we're missing. Why can't we eat the apple? Why can't we listen to that song? Why can't we pretend we're witches and magicians? Why can't we watch a horror movie once in a while? Why can't we just have some fun without all the limits and concerns and warnings?

Because we only know how to consume, and like it or not, humanity at its core is gluttonous. Once we start, we can't stop. We won't stop. We'll just keep wanting more and more and more failing to realize that we've gone way too far and failed to see that we've reached the point of consuming things that simply are not good for us. We will ignore all the warning signs because once something catches our attention and takes root in our hearts, we just can't see anything else.

We'll do anything to worship the idols we create thinking that doing so will bring us joy and a sense of fulfillment. We watch this mind-numbing filth completely oblivious to the lessons and ideas that it's putting in our minds. We listen to songs without realizing that we're jamming along to something talking about drugs and sex and breaking the law all because it’s catchy and has a good beat. We indulge our sweet-tooth thinking there's no harm in another cookie or two until we're over 400 pounds and can't move anymore.

It's this continuous downward spiral that goes largely ignored because it's all supposed to be harmless and we don't see any downsides or consequences right away.

That apple from that tree wasn't just a piece of fruit. It was an idea. It was a piece of knowledge. It was a key that opened the floodgates which let all manner of sin and evil come rushing in. Adam and Eve may have eaten an apple, but that apple consumed them as well. And that's what sin does. It gets passed off as some light-hearted game in which there is no danger. But little by little, it breaks us down, takes control, and leads us down this path of continually needing something more immoral and deranged to satisfy our cravings.

Whether it be halloween or hollywood, the apples aren't confined to a single tree anymore. Sin has spread and festered and overtaken much of society, and sadly, it's all still shrugged off as harmless fun. Just a movie. Just a TV show. Just a song. Just a hashtag. Just a costume. Just a party. Just a day.

We've become so desensitized to sin that we actually think it's harmless. We pay more attention to our need to be entertained and pacified than we do to the image of the cross that stands as a warning. We rush right past the point of no return thinking that we can always just turn around and everything will be okay. We let down our guard, open our eyes, and surrender our time to whatever the world says is harmless.

Friends, when Adam and Eve idolized that apple and gave themselves over to their craving for it, they chose to consume something that's still consuming us today. Sin is not harmless. It is not a game. It gets in our minds and convinces us that we need more of it to continue to find happiness and excitement and joy and the thrilling rush of living in rebellion against those limits that were once set in place.

Sin breaks us down to the point where we hate truth because we just enjoy the lies. It leads us so far into the darkness that we loathe the light. It consumes us from the inside out as it drags us further into the muck and mire while convincing us that it's fun.

All these shameful gods that humanity still worships are destroying lives by planting this seed in the minds of people that tells them that sin is harmless. I don't care what it is, if it doesn't push you closer to Christ then it's leading you away from Him. And if we spend enough time following all the things that lead us away from Him, we will find ourselves away from Him for all eternity learning just how dangerous sin really is.

It's not worth a day of candy and parties. It's not worth a couple of hours watching some show. It isn't worth a costume or a catchphrase or some slightly offensive joke. It's not worth it. What we allow into our lives has an impact on us. We are responsible for that! We may live in a world where sin is embraced and downplayed and celebrated. But Christ doesn't just ask us to be careful, He demands that we shake this worldly dirt off our feet, take up our cross, and follow Him away from the ledge.

Friends, just be careful. It may seem harmless and light-hearted at the moment, but learning all the wrong lessons only leads us in all the wrong directions. And when it comes to our eternal salvation, it's just not worth risking that peace for a little bit of fun. Sin has stolen and ruined and destroyed countless lives by masquerading as fun and enjoyment. Don't let it drag you to hell, no matter how much fun it may promise along the way.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold