An Uncontrolled Vice

Scripture References: Hosea 8:2-3; Mark 1:15; Luke 12

A pretty young woman worked as a security guard for a major retailer in an upscale shopping mall. When police searched her home and garage, they found items worth $500,000 that she had stolen from the store in nine years of employment— much of it still with the store’s price tags. Officers counted over 1,600 items in her bedroom alone, meticulously detailing the numerous articles of clothing that she had obsessively and consistently stolen.

She was apprehended when security cameras caught her stuffing her girdle on three occasions. The police figure she just got careless; she had always previously adjusted or disconnected the cameras. Perhaps she was finally requesting help by no longer concealing her thefts. Perhaps her uncontrolled urge to steal clamored for a solution that her own self-will could not provide.

When we sin against God, he demands repentance as a condition of spiritual rehabilitation. Repentance has been defined as a turning around—from going in the wrong direction to going in the right direction. Repentance comes as a process. We first acknowledge our lost condition, then assume personal responsibility for our spiritual failures. As a result, we grieve over our rejection of God’s grace and willingly change our direction in life, turning to God’s way from our way.

Courtesy of Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley © 1995 by Word, Incorporated.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV © 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved.