You Won't Get Away with It

A burglar broke into a home in a well-to-do neighborhood. He began to take items from a shelf when suddenly he heard a deep growl. He looked down and saw a huge Doberman. He backed away quietly from the dog, who just sat on the floor growling. Just then, he heard a small voice ask, “Who are you? Who are you?” He looked around and carefully checked various rooms, but there did not seem to be anyone else in the house. To the burglar’s relief, the dog continued to just sit on the floor, softly growling. He decided to finish the job and filled his bags with jewelry and other valuables. As he was getting ready to leave, he noticed a bird cage in the corner of the living room. Suddenly the parrot inside said, “Who are you? Who are you?”

“Is that all you can say?” the burglar asked with a mocking laugh, “Who are you? Who are you?” The parrot then replied, “Sic’ em Spike! Sic ’em!” Friends, I’m not sure what happened next, but Spike the dog may have caused the burglar to regret he had tried to rob that house.

Friends, most of us have probably never attempted to burglarize a home, yet all of us have done things which we know are wrong. Perhaps we have told a lie to impress another person, or have exaggerated a loss on an insurance claim to get a little more money. Maybe we have spread gossip about someone else at church or harbored a jealous attitude toward a friend at school. Perhaps we have been using illegal drugs or are regularly viewing pornography. We know that these actions and attitudes are wrong, yet we often assume that we will “get away” with these things because “no one else knows” what we are doing. That assumption, friends, is totally wrong.

The Bible tells us (Numbers 32:23), “behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.” Even if no other human being (or parrot or dog) knows about our sinful actions or attitudes, God always does. Though we can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people of the some of the time, we cannot fool God any of the time. We may indeed be “getting away” with our sin today, but one day we will be held accountable for our deeds, words, and even thoughts.

Friends, this means that our sin is a problem we cannot afford to ignore. The only effective way to deal with sin is to follow the prescription God gives in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins, and will purify us from all unrighteousness.” He is able and willing to do this because of Jesus’ death on the cross in our place. So, rather than trying to “get away” with things, the Lord wants us to turn to Him for mercy and forgiveness. If we do, we will be glad we did.