“Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared?” proverbs 6:27-28
Keep this in mind as I recount to you a story I recently read…
“At the window of my house I looked through my lattice, and saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, a young man devoid of understanding, passing along the street near her corner; and he took the path to her house in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night. And there a woman met him, with the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart. She was loud and rebellious; her feet would not stay at home. At times she was outside, at times in the open square, lurking at every corner. So she caught him and kissed him; with bold face she said to him: ‘I have peace offerings with me; today I have paid my vows. So I came out to meet you, diligently to seek your face, and I have found you. I have spread my bed with tapestry, colored coverings of Egyptian linen. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with love. For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey; he has taken a bag of money with him, and will come home on the appointed day.’ With her enticing speech she caused him to yield. With her flattering lips she seduced him. Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast until an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, he did not know it would cost his life.”
This is actually proverbs 7:6-23. How many times have I read the book of proverbs and never understood it in this way? Today this word came alive to me. I realized that this story is not just the story of a man led astray by a prostitute. This is a story of a people led away by the deceptiveness of sin.
“as an ox to the slaughter”…
“as a stag caught until an arrow pierces his liver”…
“as a bird hastens into a snare”…
So also the man went blindly to his death.
How does this relate to us?
Many of us are simply blind to the fact that sin, in any form, brings forth death. We choose to believe that some sins bring death (obvious sin like murder –the physical death of a person or rape-the emotional death of a person or adultery-the death of a family) and we stay away from them. Whew, we are good…right? But what about other sins? Pet sins? Sins like illegally downloading music you didn’t pay for, or gossiping, or over indulgence. Sin is sin. Sin is rebellion. Sin is saying my way is the best way. Just like in the story, sin is alluring and it promises great things like status, prestige, popularity, wealth and satisfaction, but it only, always leads to death. We are deceived into choosing death. Whether that death is physical, spiritual, or emotional, death is still the consequence. Whether we blindly accept the lie or we knowingly rationalize it, the outcome is the same. The Word of the Lord is very clear. It says “then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death”. It starts as an innocent little desire. I need this…I want this. It’s not some terrible, ugly thing most of the time. It’s subtle. It’s very much like that beautiful woman. We don’t see it for what it is, and no one else would fault us for it either. So it’s easy to hide. It’s easy to not realize it’s a problem. It’s easy to choose to keep our eyes closed and live in the deception.
So, I’m challenging you to take a risk. Ask the Lord if there is anything like that in your life…. anything that keeps you from knowing Him more…. anything that keeps you from walking as a victorious follower of Christ… anything that ultimately leads to death? I have been asking myself these questions for a few weeks and this blog and the 2 following ones are a result of it. So check out the second one on legalism and grace and the third one on how the Lord is challenging me to personally walk this truth out in my life.
