The lights were off and we could hear our dad making his way to bed.

Bethany and I pretended like we were asleep as he poked his head into our bedroom. After several minutes of lying there, I leaned over to Bethany and whispered, “the coast is clear.”

We slowly opened our bedroom door and looked to the right and left. Our parents’ door was shut for the night and all of our siblings were fast asleep.

We tiptoed quietly to the kitchen and gently pulled the freezer door open. This was it – the moment we had been planning for all night. I reached inside and carefully grabbed the container of chocolate ic cream out of the fridge.

Bethany slid open the kitchen drawer and handed me a spoon.

We popped the ice cream lid off and smiled at one another. “Dig in.” I whispered.

For the next fifteen minutes we indulged ourselves in the most deliciously creamy ice cream on the planet. We ate to our little heart’s content. Once we were all finished, we strategically put the ice cream in the exact spot we found it.

We fell asleep that night feeling happy, witty, and totally satisfied.

Then the morning came.

As sneaky as we thought we were, somehow our parents always knew when we got into the ice cream. We hesitantly fessed up our sin and came clean with what we did. As always, our well-deserved punishment followed.

The ice cream tasted so good the night before, but the consequences in the morning quickly reminded us of how “not fun” sin was.

Sadly, we live in a fallen world that knows how to make sin look appealing, delicious, and consequence free.

This isn’t a new phenomenon though. Eve faced the exact same problem in the perfect garden of Eden. Satan knew how to make a sinful choice look irresistibly yummy.

I like to call this the chocolate-covered sin.

Imagine if somebody handed you a delicious looking chocolate truffle. You pop that yummy morsel into your mouth and smile as the chocolate slowly melts on your tongue. But then, right before you take a bite, you taste something strange. Something disgusting. The flavor gets stronger and stronger and before you know it you’re sucking on a little ball of mud! Gross!

What started out as something delicious and pleasurable quickly ended in shocking regret.

Sin works the same way.

Satan knows how to makes sin look wonderful and fun by saying things like, “You don’t need to save your body for your husband, live it up now!” Or “What’s one or two little glances at that sexual video gonna hurt anyone?” Or, “Nobody will ever find out about your secret romance with that guy.”

So often we choose to sin because it’s wrapped up in a pretty package with a nice bow.

As a Christian girl, you’re being lured and enticed by chocolate-covered sins every single day. They look so good at first, but always end with bitter consequences. I’ve had several friends who bought into the lie that certain sins would be okay. Sadly, they’re still facing the consequences and pain of their choices today.

Why does sin look so good?

As Paul David Tripp describes it, “The fact that sin looks so good is one of the things that make it so bad. In order for it to do its evil work, it must present itself as something that is anything but evil. Life in a fallen world is like attending the ultimate masquerade party.”

The fact is, we have a real enemy who hates our guts with everything in him. He travels all around the world looking for ways to destroy our lives. His most clever tactic is the same one he used on Eve – to make sin look delicious and consequence free.

Satan knows that sin will destroy us so he attacks us with everything he can. He’s an expert at wrapping sin in that beautiful package.

Satan isn’t the only one after you though.

Your own sinful flesh is one of your greatest enemies too. Here are two reasons why sin is so hard to resist:

1. You have a fierce enemy who wants to destroy you.

1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

2. Your body is sinful and your flesh is weak.

James 1:14 says, “But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”

You’re in a daily war zone against the devil and your flesh.

As Christians we must wake up and realize this. Victory over sin will only come if we have a strategic plan for the fighting the battle.

How do you win?!

A great place to start is by filling your mind with so much of God’s truth that you quickly recognize those chocolate covered mud balls when they come. The more in-tune to God’s Word you are, the easier it is to know what is true and what is false.

God gives us an amazing promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

No matter how alluring, enticing, and delicious a certain sin looks, God will always provide an out for you.

Next time you’re feeling tempted by a yummy looking sin, stop, and immediately pray for God’s strength to help you resist. He will always help you overcome sin if you ask for His strength.

Time to be honest.

• How often have you chosen sin because the package it was wrapped in looked so good?
• What chocolate-covered sins are you tempted with in your life right now? How can you avoid falling into those traps?
• What is your personal plan of action for fighting and being victorious over sin today?

 Photo credit: www.flickr.com | Lara Cores