NOTHING Stays in Vegas

I can’t remember when I first heard the motto, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”.  But I have hated it ever since I heard it. Considering Las Vegas’s reputation as “Sin City”, this motto (which was used in advertising to attract tourists) appeals to the most depraved and deceived aspects of fallen humanity:

John 3:19-20 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

But all the efforts of fallen people to hide their sins utterly fail. They have forgotten God. Nothing can be hidden from Him.  And one day He will bring all the ugly secrets and evil deeds done in dark places out into the blazing bright light of His judgment for all to see. Consider this truth:

NIV Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

NIV Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

NIV Romans 2:16 This will take place on the day when God judges people's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

When evil events happen, God is always working to bring good out of them.  One of the many types of good that I hope He brings out of the Las Vegas shooting is exposing the true nature of evil which has been glamorized.  Is everything in Las Vegas evil?  Of course, not!  May God bless every righteous person, god-fearing business, and faithful church in Las Vegas.  But may He also expose the nature of some of the evil there in ways that will make it less attractive and tempting.

I was thinking of this and a picture came to my mind.  I’m not saying it will work exactly like this, but for me it captures the truths described by the verses above (sorry if your name is Bob, a common name just came to mind):

I imagined a man named Bob who made a series of trips to Las Vegas.  While there he indulged in prostitutes.  True to the Vegas motto, word never got back to Bob’s wife, children, or fellow church members.  Until judgment day.  And there Bob stood before the Great White Throne.  The One sitting on it had blazing eyes which penetrated right into Bob’s soul.  And He commanded an angel to read from a book which had all Bob’s deeds recorded.  And right there, with all humanity and millions of shining angels watching, Bob’s dirty secrets, his “secret sins”, were revealed. The angel read in a loud and clear voice what Bob did with those prostitutes.  All was revealed: how his secret sin turned Bob’s heart cold towards his wife (who never understood the reason), how it damaged the women involved, how it squandered the money God had entrusted to Bob. There was nowhere for Bob to hide.  His faith was revealed to be a sham.  He could feel the raging fire of God’s holy wrath building.

NOTHING stays in Vegas.

But let’s not forget that this principle applies outside of Las Vegas as well.

Practical Atheists

Yesterday while preparing for a Bible study, I read this in a sermon John Piper gave:

Friday morning I looked out the bedroom window as I was buttoning my shirt and saw a parable of modern American life. A middle-aged man in a three-piece green suit was walking westward toward our house on the north side of 18th Street. He had something yellow in his right hand, perhaps a banana peel or potato chip bag. I couldn't tell. As he walked along, he looked to his left across the street. Then he turned and looked behind him. And then he tossed the yellow thing over the fence by the freeway.

. . . .

Practical Atheism

The freeway fence was on his right concealing him with bushes. He could see to the front as he walked. The ground was underneath. And he covered himself to the left and behind with a glance. Why didn't he look up? Because at that moment he was a practical atheist. There might have been someone to the left or behind that mattered. But there was no one in heaven that mattered. American life is by and large atheistic when it comes to bananas and potato chips. What people say is not what shows their practical atheism. It's whether they look up when they think they are alone.

This should be a reminder to all of us.  When you are alone with your computer, you are not alone.  God sees everything you see.  When you are gossiping against a neighbor, you may hope that they don’t find out.  But do you remember that God hears every word and will hold you accountable (see Matthew 12:36)?

I think that these truths are part of the reason that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).

The wrong way to fear God is to avoid God.

The right way to fear God is to avoid sin.

God sees all.  This is very comforting because He sees all our struggles and helps us.  But it should also cause us to tremble when we are being tempted to commit a “secret sin”.

And when we do sin, remember God already knows. Trying to cover it up is pointless. The sooner we confess and seek forgiveness, the sooner we can experience His grace and cleansing.

All this reminds me of a song, which I think captures some of the truths I have been trying to share in this blog:

ESV Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .