“An Italian thief accidentally turned himself in after losing his cellular phone while robbing an elderly lady, calling his own number to meet the finder — and unwittingly arranging a date with police.
“The 77-year-old victim handed over the phone that the bag snatcher had dropped to police, who lured the thief to a meeting where he was arrested….
“By the time police were waiting for him at the meeting point, the 35-year-old had already robbed another old lady and was riding a stolen scooter, Agi said.”
How dumb can someone be? Calling your cellphone which you dropped at the scene of the crime to find out who picked it up so that you can get it back.
But see, we make the same kind of dumb mistakes when we let our sinful nature move us to embrace a different path than God lays out for us. It convinces us that the only thing which really matters is the moment. Think about the consequences later. Just blow up at your kids now because you need somewhere to take out your aggression; don’t think about how that will devastate them for hours. Look at that filthy picture now; worry about the effect it’s going to have on your relationship with your wife later. Gossip about that person now. Worry about her reputation later. Spend way more than you really have on new clothes or that great electronic toy. Worry about paying for it later. And we dive right in to make some really foolish mistakes. That’s the thing about temptation: it shuts our brain down while enticing our desires.
Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus, a two-part victory. When we fall to temptation and do something stupid, it’s the victory of forgiveness. Through Jesus’ resurrection, our guilt has been removed. And the second victory is a victory of power. In Jesus, we are given the power to think through what we do and to contend against temptation.
It’s a victory that is yours right now through Jesus. Let’s pray for his strength to realize it and live it to his glory.
