February 7

Feb 7 - Today from Proverbs 7 we look at verses 21 & 22
"With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose."

As the Lord continues on a discourse of wisdom concerning the pitfalls of adultery, I would like to continue to draw out some of the broader principles involved. As with many verses from Proverbs, these verses indicate that wisdom has much to do with avoiding potentially harmful circumstances. I have developed this thought regarding wisdom; "Knowledge is accumulating correct information. Wisdom is the correct application of knowledge."
If we were to isolate the definition of innocence as "without knowledge of evil", then innocence is not a virtue I would desire to hold in this fallen world. The innocent (naïve), are the most vulnerable prey for the clever seducers. I am convinced that Adam was created without knowledge of either good or evil. He simply lived in a perfect trust relationship with God until he broke that trust. Unfortunately, ever since Adam ‘discovered’ the knowledge of good and evil, man has had to deal with that knowledge. If we had knowledge of only good, there would be an imbalance in our knowledge and evil would easily be able to seduce us. The Bible is very open in teaching us about evil - not so that we will indulge in it, but rather that we would be wise enough to avoid it. God isn't instructing young men in the ways of adultery in order to tempt them. The temptation is already there. God is admonishing young men to move from naivete (lack of correct information), to wisdom (application of correct information). Once we understand the nature of sin, we are more apt to be able to identify it. Once we understand the consequences of sin (and most sin is initially pleasurable), we are then able to make better decisions as we encounter temptation.
A friend recently passed this little tidbit on to me, "Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional." Growing up is another term for maturity. It has little to do with growing old. God wants His children to grow up. In order to grow up we need correct information about the realities of the world we live in and we need to apply that knowledge to our walk through this life. The young man in Proverbs 7 was naive, and he was seduced by pleasure into a deadly trap. That's how evil works.