Forbidden Fruit

MARCH 13 2026   Forbidden Fruit

Have you ever heard the phrase, "put the screws" to someone? It comes from olden times when people would be tortured or punished by a tool that squeezed a part of their body by turning a screw. I have the feeling that we're living in the day and time when the People In Charge or Powers That Be (PTB) are putting the screws to the rest of us. They're screwing us, in the manner in which we often hear the more vulgar phrase which derives from sensual imagery, meaning we're getting the short end of the stick. We have a lot of phrases come to think of it for people mistreating other people or things occurring that are unpleasant or unwanted circumstances in our lives. Do I need to remind you what is written about the actions of mankind? Well here goes. Let's start with Jesus, "For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, lying, railings, slander, blasphemy." Romans lists these, "So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too." Titus stated, " we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another." Ephesians says, "They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity." And in the prophets it says, "the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. There is none righteous, no not one." So I ask, if everyone acts this way is it any wonder God allows the beasts that rule over us to treat us as sheep to be slaughtered? How instead are we supposed to act? In love as I Corinthians 13 describes, "Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. Love never fails [it never fades nor ends]."

But since we live in the times Jesus warned about when sin would abound causing the love of men to grow cold, there is little patience, or kindness, or humility, but rudeness and lies and deceit and jealousy and envy and anger and pride and lack of faith. Let's not look to the world to save us. There's only one Savior. Turn your eyes upon Jesus and put the screws to the devil and reject his lies and avoid hell. He will be enraged if you escape hell and go to heaven. I am glad Jesus set me free. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit.