James 1:13-15 – Ten Tasty Tidbits about Turkish Delight
Well, you’ve been hearing me mention this for several weeks now, but I thought I’d spend some time tonight looking at the Chronicles of Narnia. This is still part of our series on Walking in the Spirit, as well. The Chronicles of Narnia has been a wonderful children’s book for over 50 years, but it also has many Christian aspects to it. It was written by CS Lewis, a Christian thinker you’ve heard me quote many times.
Even though the books were later renumbered, the 1st one in the series was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which is also going to be a big movie in December. Today I’d like to look at one aspect of the book/movie that, besides being entertaining, would encourage us to see the dangers of sin. I’d like to look at the truths of the scripture, and at the same time tell a story from LWW. Read passage.
Now, the wardrobe is, if you didn’t know, a large walk-in closet. Over the course of the book, 4 siblings walk into it and end up in a different world called Narnia. But before all 4 children end up in there, one of the boys, Edmund, ends up in Narnia. Let me tell you about Edmund.
Edmund is the sort of kid you just want to smack upside the head. He’s rude and arrogant, and enjoys teasing his younger sister to the point of tears. He has a chip on his shoulders about where he fits into the family, and he generally is disagreeable.
Now, at this point, Narnia is under the spell of the White Witch Jadis. It is always winter in Narnia. What’s more, it is never Christmas. Narnia is constantly under a spell of cold and snow, with never any chance of improvement, as far as people can see. So, when Edmund steps through the door, into the snow-covered forest, he is cold. All of a sudden, he hears sleigh-bells. Which would normally be a good thing in winter, but not this time. The sleigh is driven by 2 reindeer, but is led by a nasty dwarf, and the sleigh is the transportation for the White Witch.
You have to understand, she is evil. Besides keeping Narnia under perpetual winter, she instills fear into the hearts of all the Narnians, and she turns her enemies to stone. When she first sees Edmund, she is abrasive and vile, insulting and demeaning. However, once she realizes he is not just a beardless dwarf but rather a human, she changes her tune. You see, there is a prophecy that says 4 human children would come and rule Narnia. So if Jadis can capture one of those children, or better yet all 4, she would not need to afraid of that prophecy.
So she softens towards Edmund. She gives him a hot drink, and then asks if he would like anything to eat. Edmund’s thoughts go to a traditional chewy candy eaten at Christmas that British children have enjoyed over the years – Turkish delight.
By giving Edmund this Turkish delight, she is able to manipulate him into trying to get his siblings to go to her castle. This Turkish delight is even slightly narcotic, addictive and deceptive. Turkish delight leads Edmund to go places he never imagined.
Well, let’s tie this together a little. I suppose a person could look at Jadis’ Turkish delight as either temptation or sin. It is used as a temptation to do some pretty horrible stuff. But it is not a sin to be tempted. I would hate people to think that they are not spiritual if they face temptations. No, I believe a better way of looking at Turkish delight is that it represents sin. Edmund gives into it. It escalates in its consequences, yes, but he still gives in.
So today, I would like to spend the rest of the time looking at sin, illuminated by the stuff called Turkish delight. Today I would like to give you Ten Tasty Tidbits about Turkish Delight – 10 troublesome truths about sin that we would do well to remember next time we are tempted.
Tasty Tidbit #1 – Sin is most appealing when we are weak. When Edmund stumbled into the wardrobe, he was already grumpy and unpleasant. And by the time he found the Witch, he was cold, lonely and scared. He was ripe for giving in to something.
I think of Cain, who killed his brother Abel. He was angry that Abel’s sacrifice was considered better than his own. And the very first mention of the word “sin” is found in Genesis 4, when the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
Sin was ready to pounce on Cain because he was holding on to bitterness. It’s no wonder that Psalm 4:4 says, “In your anger do not sin.” Because when we are angry, or weak, or tired, or frustrated, or lonely, that’s when sin seems the most appealing to us. Recognize this in your own life. Notice when you are the most vulnerable, and be alert.
Tasty Tidbit #2 – Sin clouds how evil evil really is. At first Jadis was very rude and cruel to Edmund. Then, all of a sudden, she changed her tone, and became very nice to him. And though he noticed the change, he didn’t seem to question why. And once the Turkish delight arrived, he threw off all inhibitions. You see, he couldn’t see how evil she really was.
Sin clouds reality. Sin makes things look not nearly as harmful as they really are. I’m of the opinion that Judas didn’t really think he was going to wind up killing Jesus. I think Judas thought Jesus was the Messiah, and Judas was just trying to force Jesus’ hand to act against the Romans. And although Judas was dishonest, I don’t think he meant for Jesus to die. But he listened to the wrong voice for too long, and sin clouded his view of how evil his betrayal would be. Sin clouds how evil evil really is.
Tasty Tidbit #3 – Sin appears as what you want. Jadis asked Edmund this question: “What would you like best to eat?” What do you want? The only sins that really tempt us are the ones that offer what we want. If we want company, sin can offer us ways not to be so lonely. If we want money, sin can offer us ways to get or keep it. If we want power, sin can offer us ways to rise to the top.
Bryan Duncan sang many years ago, “Whatever makes you stumble will be your only test.” Simon the magician in Acts 8 wanted the Holy Spirit because he liked power. He saw the Holy Spirit as a further way to make money and be famous. He didn’t care about grace or ministry or responsibility. All he wanted was power, and he was willing to pay for it. And he missed the point because of it. Sin shows up as what you want.
Tasty Tidbit #4 – Sin clouds your judgement. When Edmund started eating, he started talking, and what he said put his family and their friends in great danger. He didn’t notice how eager she was to meet his brother and sisters. Sin made Edmund not see clearly, and he lost common sense because of it.
I think often of David, who stayed at home where it was easy, instead of going off to war, which was his responsibility. He saw Bathsheba, and wanted her. He committed adultery with her, and then had her husband killed to cover it. Clearly, he lost common sense way back, and made a series of bad judgements. Listen: when a person is overcome by sin, don’t expect good judgement from them. They just want to survive.
Tasty Tidbit #5 – Sin’s pleasure doesn’t last long. Let me quote p37-38 of LWW: “At last the Turkish Delight was all finished and Edmund was looking very hard at the empty box and wishing that she would ask him whether he would like some more.” Edmund quickly ate it all, and immediately wanted more. Like drinking seawater to quench your thirst, it just didn’t satisfy for long.
Hebrews 11:25 describes Moses’ attitude: “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.” Anyone who tells you sin isn’t fun probably never did it. Sin is fun, and it has pleasures. The problem is, the pleasure doesn’t last. Sin doesn’t satisfy for long. Remember that next time you’re tempted.
Tasty Tidbit #6 – Sin will eventually kill. You see, this Turkish delight was enchanted, and Edmund did not know that if he had been allowed, he would have kept eating it until he died of it. Eventually, the candy would have cost him his life. I think of our passage tonite, from James 1: “Sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” What we earn from sin is death. It causes our spirits to crumple up, it snuffs out our prayers, and it mortifies our desire for God. Which is a lethal disease. Sin kills.
Tasty Tidbit #7 – Sin promises better days ahead. Jadis wanted to get Edmund’s siblings to her castle, where she would turn them to stone, and she told Edmund he would rule as a king. Sin promised Edmund that things would be better if he just gave in.
Sin lies to us, too. It says that we will be better off if we do this or that. We will feel better about ourselves if we do some other thing. We will feel more important if we put others down, but it’s all lies. Sin may promise better days, but it just can’t follow through. Sin makes things worse.
Tasty Tidbit #8 – Sin lies about your importance. Jadis told Edmund that he was the cleverest and handsomest boy she’d ever met, but his face was red and his hands were sticky. He wasn’t particularly clever or handsome at that point, but he believed the lies.
Sin loves to say you are the most important person you should think of. Sin says that everyone should listen to you and do what you want. Sin says what you think of yourself is most important. Of course, none of this is true. What matters most is what God thinks of you. Romans 12:3 says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.”
Tasty Tidbit #9 – Sin leads to the betrayal of others. Edmund promised to bring his siblings to the witch, even though he didn’t know the full extent of her plans for them. But still, he planned to turn them in to her.
Listen: your sin betrays others. Achan’s sin betrayed his people. David’s sin betrayed Uriah. Judas’ sin betrayed Jesus. An adulterous pastor betrays a whole church. When you sin, it costs other people as well. Sin is horribly selfish that way, to make you think it doesn’t hurt anyone else.
Tasty Tidbit #10 – Sin spoils good things. Let’s skip ahead in the story. Edmund had gone back to this world, and eventually all 4 kids end up in Narnia. They are all eating dinner at Mr. and Mrs. Beaver’s, but Edmund wasn’t enjoying the meal at all. The book says: “There’s nothing that spoils the taste of good ordinary food half so much as the memory of bad magic food.” Once Edmund tasted the magical Turkish delight, nothing else would taste good.
And so it is with sin. Sin steals the joy out of worship, which should taste wonderful. Sin steals the joy out of marriage, which should be fantastic. Sin steals unity out of a church, which should be a warm and friendly place to be part of. Sin steals, sin robs, sin cheapens, sin molests… sin spoils good things, to the point that bad things seem better than the good.
Listen: sin is dangerous. Sin is addictive. Sin is to be avoided in our lives at all costs. But sin is also avoidable and forgivable. We have One who forgives, the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ, and the same One will give us strength to live for Him, if we really want to. Romans 5:20 says: “where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” Praise the Lord.
Ten Tasty Tidbits about Turkish Delight
(Ten Troublesome Truths about Sin)
Tasty Tidbit #1 – Sin is most appealing when we are weak.
Tasty Tidbit #2 – Sin clouds how evil evil really is.
Tasty Tidbit #3 – Sin appears as what you want.
Tasty Tidbit #4 – Sin clouds your judgement.
Tasty Tidbit #5 – Sin’s pleasure doesn’t last long.
Tasty Tidbit #6 – Sin will eventually kill.
Tasty Tidbit #7 – Sin promises better days ahead.
Tasty Tidbit #8 – Sin lies about your importance.
Tasty Tidbit #9 – Sin leads to the betrayal of others.
Tasty Tidbit #10 – Sin spoils good things.
