“Sin is the monster we love to deny – it can stalk us, bite a slice out of our lives, return again and bite again, and even as we bleed and hobble, we prefer to believe nothing has happened. That makes sin the perfect monster, a man-eater that blinds and numbs its victims, convincing them that nothing is wrong and there is no need to flee, and then consumes them at its leisure.”From The Oath by Frank Peretti
That is a perfect description of Bangla Road. When you first arrive on the street at night, the initial scene looks like a lot of fun – bands playing, colorful lights flashing, people laughing and smiling as they mill about the street. There are even some families wandering around with children in tow.
When you take a turn onto one of the bar streets the atmosphere begins to subtly change. There are pole dancers at every other bar, the smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke permeates the air, the lighting is dimmer as well. If you walk to the end of these streets you will find the closed-door strip clubs, with girls outside holding signs and trying to persuade you to come in and see the show. The faces you see are still smiling, the music still plays on, but the undertone is totally different. The trap here is that the change is so subtle and gradual that you don’t notice it creeping up on you unless you are looking for it. It pulls you in one step at a time and, before you know it, you are trapped. I wonder just how many people get sucked into sin far beyond where they intended to go. It begins with such tiny, seemingly innocent steps. We even try to justify and rationalize our sin along the way. Then one day we wake up and wonder how in the world we got pulled in so deep.
If we wake up at all.
As my team walks the streets at night and as I look into the faces of the tourists out to have a good time, I long to shout out to them, “Turn back! There is danger here! Leave while you still can!” I want to warn them that, beneath the surface, sin is never fun and games.
In fact, your very soul is at stake.
For me, Bangla Road serves as a very solemn warning to the subtlety and craftiness of sin. Why try to see how close you can get to the edge of the cliff when you could run as hard as you can in the opposite direction, towards the light of Christ?
“This is the Verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” – John 3:19
