By P Chong                            Thurs. 8 April 2010

“But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.” ~ Luke 12:39

Under the cover of darkness . . . in the still of night

The thief comes usually in the still of night and steal from us when we are most vulnerable and least on guard. It could happen also when our house is left vacant on vacation. Danger lurks whenever we are relaxing and least alert, physically, mentally or spiritually.

Spiritually, we are most vulnerable during our leisure hours away from our quiet times with the Lord. Like a thief in the night, Satan creeps into our mortal heart leading us to temptations. That’s why we say: “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” We need to be aware that temptations come when we are least expecting. We need therefore to be constantly and prayerfully on our spiritual guard.

Even the Son of God, Jesus, was not spared temptations. Before the start of His public ministry after being baptised, He was led into the desert and there Satan tempted Him. The enemy of our souls operates against everybody without exceptions. Satan strikes whenever, whoever and wherever he pleases. He persists whenever opportunities strike!

Cultivating the habit of reading the Bible on a daily basis helps to strengthen us spiritually. Reading it together as a family is even better. As an individual, we should always have quiet times with the Lord. It should be spent on a qualitative basis rather than quantitative basis. Let our mind be focused on our Lord. In our daily routine of life, it’s understandably difficult to stay focussed all the time. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Whatever our secular activities might be, they are all so fleeting. Our spiritual activities should be more enduring, for eternity is for always. It’s forever and ever!

Be on your guard prayerfully. Let your physical recreation be matched by your spiritual cultivation. Take care of any small spiritual crack. Like the “Towering Inferno” (the film), it all started with a minor electrical spark. The Lord be with you always.

In our secular life, within & without the confine of the “confidence garden” of Wall Street, theft is carried out not in terms of millions or billions but trillions. With Ponzi Schemes, those confidence tricksters like Bernard Madoff (unfortunate to be caught & jailed) were allegedly allowed to grow & fester. While smaller fish are exemplarily dealt with, so many big corporations like AIG, Lehman Bros., Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, General Motors & Citibank etc. were all bailed out with billions of public fund. These élite financial crooks undeservedly get to be rescued & survive the financial crisis at the expense of the general public & the economy – a crisis initiated & brought on by them.

Are corporations above reproach or to be privileged & treated differently? These are the devious “earthly devils” to be wary of, whose unwanted performances set the nation & the world in peril. This is a question of judgement swayed & justice gone astray.

Greed is their creed.

Money is their belief.

They are thieves above all thieves.