- (1 John 2:11) Those who hate other believers are in the dark and live in the dark. They don’t know where they’re going, because they can’t see in the dark.
You can’t see in the dark, and neither can I.
That is the thought that came to my mind several days ago. When we sin, often involving the way we speak to the people around us, we are not walking in the light but darkness.
- “All I said was …”
- “I was only … “
- “All I was trying to do was …”
Our confusion as to the result of our actions, although inexcusable, is understandable because we can’t see in the dark.
Disobey God’s truth and you step out of the light. Step out of the light and you step into darkness. Step into darkness and you will not be able to comprehend the implications of your disobedience because you can’t see in the dark and neither can I. No one can.
- “But I didn’t mean to …”
And that is often true as we realize that we have caused more damage than we intended. However sometimes this protest is plainly a lie as the person fully intended to be mean and hurtful. It can also happen that the protest is partially true because a person only wanted to inflict just a certain amount of pain and things got out of control.
But that is what happens when you walk in the darkness.
You can’t see where you are going. You can’t tell what you are doing. Even when we do not restrain ourselves and intentionally try to hurt, we still do not understand the full scope of our sin before God and the devastation of our sin in a world only too eager to exploit the darkness.
Read the following text in James and think through how clearly and decisively God describes the harm. Ponder the implications. Is God merely using hyperbole? Is he overstating or is he trying to open our eyes to the potential devastation?
- (James 3:6 NASB95) And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.
Maybe call your mind to the description of the tongue in James 3 the next time you hear yourself saying: “All I said was …”
The fact is that contrary to the nonchalance and indifference we display as to the words we let loose on the world, we should find ourselves desperate for God’s instruction and warning, eager for any words from the One who sees everything.
By default we run to the darkness. By default we love dark more than light. You may not believe this to be true about yourself, but if so, you maintain a stance contrary to the teaching of Scripture. Remember you can’t see in the dark, and your deception is only another form of darkness. The blind who led the blind into the ditch thought they could see.
- (John 3:19 NLT) And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.
The good news is that we can see in the light, and, in fact, our awareness of God and his involvement in our world grows as we continue to live his truth.
- (John 3:21 NIV84) But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.
Walking in the light does not mean a mere intellectual grasp of the truth of the Bible, or an ability to see the benefits of an upright, moral life. Walking in the light means that we persistently live the truth because that is who we are. And that person gains a broadening perspective of God and his truth from the small details of life to God’s grand plan and purpose.
- (Proverbs 4:18–19 NASB95) But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day. 19 The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.
