Daily Devotional

There are many strange proverbs and idioms in the English language. But there’s one in particular, one my parents sometimes told me as a teenager, that confused me for a long time: “Nothing good happens after midnight.” Really? Nothing good? That seems a bit extreme. What’s behind this piece of advice?

On the one hand, my parents used the phrase as shorthand for “don’t get drunk or have premarital sex,” both of which are activities that often happen after midnight. Even the Bible recognizes this: “For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night” (1 Thessalonians 5:7). But there’s a deeper, biological reality here as well: the fatigue that comes with being awake in the wee hours of the morning impairs judgment and leads to bad decision making. I discovered this firsthand in my college years, when I had far too many late-night paper writing sessions. Around midnight or 1 AM, my concentration and creativity would tank, effectively doubling the time and effort it took to churn out an essay. In all honesty, the times I was actually productive after midnight were rare and almost always born from necessity (as in the paper was due the next day). Typically if college Mark was awake after midnight, it was to spend time on screens and entertainment (which invariably meant being tired and irritable the next day). Sure enough, my parents were right: “nothing good happens after midnight” was a pretty solid piece of advice.

On the other hand, the phrase “nothing good happens after midnight” taps into a long and biblical tradition that associates light/day with good and darkness/light with evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:5 says we are children of the light, not of the darkness. 1 John 1:5 tells us that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. The first act of God in the Bible (Genesis 1:3-5) is separating light from darkness! What is it about darkness that makes it such a potent metaphor for sin and evil?

First, darkness blinds. It’s harder to see in the dark—impossible if it’s pitch black. In the same way that physical darkness keeps us from seeing, so the Bible uses darkness to describe spiritual blindness: the condition of the lost in which they fail to see the love of God, the reality of their own sinfulness, and their need for a Savior. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that “the god of this world was blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.”

Second, darkness leads astray. Ever stubbed your toe while trying to walk around your house in the dark? In the dark, it’s easy to get lost, to go down the wrong path. So also in Scripture: darkness not only signifies unbelief, but disobedience and evil deeds. 1 John 2:11 describes the person who hates his brother as one who “walks in the darkness and does not know where he is going.”

Third, darkness hides. It not only keeps me from seeing, but keeps me from being seen by others. It’s easier to get away with things when it’s dark; there’s a reason more violent crimes are committed at night. John 3:20 says that “everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” Saying the lost are “in darkness” points to the reality that since the garden of Eden, sin leads to isolation... to shame... to hiding.

But there is good news! Jesus proclaims that He is “the light of the world” (John 8:12). “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” In Christ, we have been delivered from the domain of darkness and have our inheritance with the saints in light (Colossians 1:12-13). In our spiritual blindness, Jesus brings illumination: a recognition not only of our own sinfulness but of His great mercy and love. In our spiritual lostness, Jesus brings us back to Him: He comes to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). And in our shame, Jesus brings us into the light, cleansing us from all sin by his blood (1 John 1:7).  

So I stand by the phrase “nothing good happens after midnight,” or at least, the principles behind it. Watch out for those immoral activities that rely on the cover of nightfall. Don’t stay up late without a really good reason; it probably won’t go as well as you hope. But most importantly, let us be children of the day, not children of the night (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Let us avoid ignorance, disobedience, and shame, and walk as people of light, following Jesus, the Light of the world.

"English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers."