My mum shared a funny story with us some years ago. They had gone on vacation with her grandmother. Grandma would always prepare very rich "egusi" soup for them. It was always thick and full of fish. Once it was time for lunch while grandma was away, they would...

...dish their meal and savour the delicacy. But something strange began to happen: the standard of Grandma's egusi soup began to drop. They would come back to a watery-like soup and tiny pieces of fish.

They managed it for a while thinking Grandma made a mistake but when it became a pattern, they voiced out and made a discovery. Their older cousin would get home before them, he would feast on the rich egusi soup and the fish.

When he has taken the best portion, he then adds water to dilute the rest. The reason why it was no longer rich was that a thief has entered the mix. The thief did not steal it all, he took a part and diluted the rest.

First, the devil is also a thief. However, he is a unique kind of thief. The devil does not steal from you by taking away everything abruptly. He steals by diluting the original that God has prepared for you.

The strategy of the devil is not to necessarily stop you from praying, studying, or being consistent in church. He waits right after you have done all that to dilute all you have done. So, after you have prayed and fasted, he comes to tell you to turn stones into bread.

How does this 21st-century devil do it? He will offer you the option of binging on unedifying social media content. You will laugh at close-to-porn skits and even shake your head in disgust at times but that is the diluting going on. You have turned stones into bread.

Your hunger is legit but you have satisfied it through the wrong means. Have you ever wondered how fast you can switch from a sermon that blessed you on a Sunday service to songs that do not edify your soul?

He will let you listen to the sermon but he will dilute it with lewd lyrics that feed your soul while you just nod your head to the rhythm. Watch closely: Do you remember the parable of the wheat and tares? A farmer sowed wheat all day. He went to sleep.

When he woke up, he discovered that there were tares on his farm. He said an enemy has done this. Kindly note that the enemy did not uproot the wheat. No! He left it there. He only sowed tares amongst the wheat.

Have you ever eaten sweet beans and crunched on a tiny stone before? Exactly! You will most likely spit it all out. Is it clear? The enemy knows that once it is diluted, it will all likely get lost.

When did the enemy sow the tares? While men slept. When did Delilah scrape Samson's Hair? After lulling him to sleep. When did Jael give a deadly blow to Sisera the army commander? When he slept.

Wake up! You cannot watch everything (skits, movies, etc). Wake up! You cannot listen to every song. Wake up! You cannot binge on all content. Wake up! Do not take that diluted soup.

Your life can be richer than this. Your walk of faith can be stronger than this. Your prayer altar can be hotter than this. Your desire for godliness can be stronger than this. What diluted soup are you taking?

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