Day 194, Year 1
The Focus of Dining is Communication with People
“Suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you.” (2 Peter 2:13 NASB)
The word “carouse” in today’s verse, though different from the word “dine” mentioned in Revelation chapter 3 verse 20, still denotes a general meaning of “feasting” or “dining” in the Bible. For the Israelites, “carouse” is often not about the delicious food and drink, but about engaging in conversations with different people dining together. Thus, the verse mentions that those who habitually do evil take pleasure in their deceptions while dining and sharing with others.
Some people’s hearts need adjustment to accommodate others, including dining activities with others. Meanwhile, some take pleasure in their deceptions and enjoy interacting with others who are deceitful. “Deception” in Greek, apate, is often translated as “deceit.” In the New Testament, it also signifies deception related to sin, lust, mercenary, or empty words, etc. Indeed, some find pleasure in deceit, trickery, and deception, which become the focus of their festivity with others.
On the contrary, if we desire to dine with the Lord Jesus, we need to distance ourselves from all unrighteous evildoers who merrily disperse evil to others. Today’s verse indicates that we can discern if someone is righteous or unrighteous by the “wages” they receive. However, if we are entangled with such people, we must break away from them, set boundaries, and cut the ties with them to safeguard our spiritual lives. Furthermore, when dining with Jesus, He will most likely share with us how to be pure, blameless, righteous, and diligent, and delight in the truth and the work of the Holy Spirit, etc. Do all of these from Jesus bring you joy, or does it make you feel uneasy, stressed, anxious, or restless, etc.? If it is the latter, you might need to ask Jesus to change the feelings within your heart toward Him and His work. Some people do not find joy in anything belonging to God. Their evaluation is flawed, leading to problematic emotions with a troubled spirit. They therefore need Jesus’ healing if they want to turn their crookedness into uprightness. Often, we need to seek the Lord’s help to detest all kinds of evil so that we can embrace His goodness. In this process, we need to confess our inappropriate delight in evil before Him, seek His forgiveness and help, so as to repent thoroughly. And then, we need to ask Jesus to transform our distorted emotions, thus restoring our hearts to normalcy and subsequently welcoming His presence.
Reflection questions:
1) Where do you think the source of your joy is? Do you need to adjust your feelings according to Jesus’ will and favorites?
2) Do you need Jesus’ healing so that you no longer find any joy in deception or evil, but mainly in the work and communion with Him?