Stolen Sweetness
““Whoever is simple, let him turn in here”; And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, “Stolen water is sweet, And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”” Proverbs 9:16-17 NKJV Until truth catches up with dishonesty, stolen sweetness wears the label ‘sweet’ with pride and celebration. Such is the popular lie from a seductive woman, a deceptive partner, and a dishonest worker to gain a ‘pleasant’ pleasure, position, and prosperity. Unfortunately, the ‘stolen’ sweetness is always like a swollen sweetness filled with maggot and rotten eggs. It brings inescapable sickness, destruction, and sometimes death, after its temporary sweetness wears out. Sometimes, like it was with Achan in the Old Testament or Ananias and Sapphira in the New Testament, the true rottenness of the stolen sweetness comes out even before the deceptive sweetness. Little wonder the scriptures admonish believers that “ The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it ”...