We Share Christ by the Way We Act

The historian Edward Gibbon tells us that when Galerius sacked the camp of the Persians, a shining leather bag filled with pearls fell into the hands of a looting soldier. This man carefully preserved the useful bag—but threw away the precious pearls.

People who cling to whatever superficial thrills the world can offer up, while discarding Jesus, the Pearl of Great Price, and the eternal kingdom which Christ offers, are in even worse shape than the looting soldier. It’s not just a fortune that can slip through our hands, but eternal salvation. So Scripture warns us:

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man [appetite] the lust of his eyes [love of the world] and the boasting of what he has and does [pride]—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”
—1 John 2:15-17.

Satan works hard to gold-plate the most destructive sins and hype the worst habits. You would think sin had the world’s greatest public relations program. Why do prostitutes on TV shows often seem so lovely and well-adjusted? We seldom see anyone who resembles the abused, scarred, sallow-faced creatures who walk the streets at night. Why do mostly young, beautiful, hard-working, satisfied, intensely happy people populate beer commercials? If it really “doesn’t get any better than this,” what are they trying to numb with alcohol? We seldom see anyone who resembles those pathetic figures stumbling out of the liquor store with a paper sack in their hands.

The most destructive pleasures seem to have acquired the loudest voices and the most graphic images these days. We can’t just buy whatever the world is selling. Christ asks us to be discriminating: “wise as serpents, and as harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16, KJV).