August 7

Aug 7 - Today from Proverbs 7 we look at verse 13
"She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said. . . "

Starting at verse six, this chapter tells the story of a young man who either didn't have principles - or he abandoned his principles when he allowed his emotional desires to overtake his will. The first lesson to learn is that it does not matter which is the case - the outcome is the same. Without resolve, intentions are quite useless.
The adulteress can be an analogy for any temptation that might cause the student (disciple), to waiver from the path of righteousness. "Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths." (v.25). The temptress exploits the senses of the young man in order to get him emotionally involved. She dresses seductively. The first line of entrapment is to get his eyes off the 'straight ahead' position. Eye contact is made. There is a spark of interest. He is toying with an idea. She is now ready to move him from toying with an idea to entertaining the idea. She moves in and makes her intentions very clear, she goes from sight to touch - a very seductive touch. She grabs hold of him and kisses him. She now has him entertaining the idea. His emotions are in high gear and he is open to a detour from his path. He opens his eyes to see if this is for real. Her face tells it all. All modesty is gone, her intentions are boldly radiating from her eyes. Before he can even begin to question what she has in mind, she employs the next sense - his sense of hearing. She begins to form a picture with words. . .
Textbook seduction. Solomon reveals how the temptress (or temptor), methodically breaks down the will of the victim. She/he assaults the senses, raising the level of emotions in order to overwhelm any good sense the victim might have. But, as seductive as a picture Solomon paints for his students (he could write script for Hollywood up to this point), he is honest enough to share the tragic outcome of yielding to temptation (something Hollywood rarely does). Sin is deadly. It may be glamorous, it may be sensual, it may be thrilling, it may be fun, it may even be profitable -- but it is always deadly. The Bible tells us so - and we are Bible-believing Christians. Right?
Then why are we constantly flirting with temptation? One way we can minimize temptation is to redefine sin. That works pretty good. Instead of calling a fetus an unborn human, we can call it a product of conception. That opens up all kinds of possibilities. Or, we can justify sin. That works quite well too. Instead of calling premarital sex fornication, we can call it making love - after all, there is nothing wrong with love. Or, we can tell ourselves that we can stop ourselves before it actually comes to the point of being sin. Unlike the young man in our story, we convince ourselves that we can enjoy the rendezvous on the sidewalk, but stop short of going into her house. . . or wherever. Yeah. How often does that work?
The best defense against temptation and sin is to keep your eyes on the path of righteousness. Set your values. Establish your principles. Enjoy the emotions God gave you, but keep them under control. If you have pre-determined that you aren't going to go into the house with the adulteress, why even toy with the idea in the first place? I am speaking of course of the analogy here -- wherever your area of weaknesses may lie. The seducer may have a very appealing come-on for you, but remember, sin is deadly. Always. Your sensual flesh may try to convince you that it's worth the moment - but listen to your heart. That's the place you asked Jesus into - remember? He is the Good Shepherd, who will lead you in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Jesus put it in very clear and practical terms in Matthew 26:41. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Our weakness lies in our five senses. We cannot trust them with the eternal truths of living for God and for others. Our strength lies in our spirit, because that is where we abide in Him. It feels rather strange to pray in the time of temptation - it's the last thing our flesh would have us do. That's why God gave us a will. He continually tells us, "You choose." When we choose Him, He gives grace. His grace is sufficient.
Set your values. Establish your moral principles. Pray in the times of temptation.