Have a Cookie

(Pro 9:17 KJV)  Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

As I read this verse I think about how good that bit of cake was that I sneaked when no one else was looking.  It is possible that one reason it tasted so good was that the quantity was small and my taste buds were not satiated.  But there is a more spiritual dimension.  There is something in us that feels victorious when we get away with something.  Picture the feeling when you go to a yard sale and see some tarnished do-dad that you can see is made of sterling silver.  You get it for pennies.  They are happy.  You are delirious.  I imagine a thief gets the same rush.

But the thief will feel different later.  There is another verse in Proverbs that reminds us of this,

(Pro 20:17 KJV)  Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.

So?  Often we know we are doing wrong and do it anyway.  Other times the awareness does not come until later.  I would guess that sometimes we only know if we have messed up at a later time.  That will be the time for confession, forgiveness and restitution.