I remember it like it was yesterday. I was a little kid, and I was about to have my whole world torn apart. We were walking through Hy-Vee, and I was practically drooling at the sight of the massive cakes on display in the bakery department. It was at that point that I began to formulate a plan. (Readers Note: I formulate all kinds of absolutely destructive and sometime purely evil ideas. Thankfully I never execute them, I just enjoy the process of planning.) I would steal one of the massive cakes. All I had to do was drop it in the cart and run away. I’ll be honest, it seemed like one of the best ideas I’d ever had. Sure, it went against my morals; but look at that cake. It would be worth it. It was then that I pitched my idea to my parents, because I honestly had no intention of going through with it. They listened and then informed me that all those beautiful cakes were just a facade. It turns out on the inside these cakes were simply Styrofoam. Underneath the layers of sugary goodness lay something far worse than I could have ever imagined. Now I’m just glad I found out before I tried to take the cake.

You might be wondering why I spent so much time sharing my experience at the grocery store. Well, here’s why. Matthew 7:13 says: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” From this verse, we can see that the road of sin looks good, and it seems easy. Sadly, we can also see that many people fall for the deception of the easy road. It looks good, but it leads to destruction. This destruction is eternal separation from God. An eternity spent suffering in the fires of hell. I tried to find one good verse to sum up what hell is like, and I couldn’t, but I can tell you this, you don’t want to go there. (Some verses that provide a helpful description: Matthew 13:42, Revelation 20:10 & 14, Luke 16:19-31) The way of sin will always look appealing to us. If we allow ourselves to dwell upon it, we will become just like I did with the Styrofoam cakes. Infatuated. Many of the great people in the Bible gave into sin because it looked good to them. Why did Adam and Eve ignore God’s warning about the fruit? Why did Abraham try to rush God’s plans? Why did David commit adultery? All of these people sinned because it looked good, and in each circumstance, it was followed by shame and regret. They took a big bite of the cake, only to realize that it was all a lie.

I can think of many times in my life where I made the mistake of chasing after the “Styrofoam cake” of sin. It looked so good to me at the time, but once I had taken a bite, I felt so guilty. I’m sure you’ve made similar mistakes as well. The question is: what can we do to keep ourselves on the narrow path of righteousness? How can we keep ourselves from falling for the lies of sin again and again? We need to remind ourselves that Jesus is what we are truly looking for. When you feed on Him and His word, you will never be filled with shame and regret. John 6:26-27 says: “Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw the miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”” Jesus is telling us that He is truly satisfying. Unlike the facades that the devil offers us, Jesus is giving us something good and eternal. Not only is the bread that Jesus offers us better than the cake of the devil; it even has God’s stamp of approval on it!