September 7

Sep 7 - Today from Proverbs 7 we look at verse 25

"Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths."

Two men, two cars, two different times and places. The first man had been fighting depression for weeks. He was terribly emotionally unstable. He could no longer manage any joy or see any good in life. He struggled though his routine daily and lie in torment on his bed at night. On this particular morning he was driving down the freeway, taking his regular route. The cloud in his mind was particularly dark today, he could no longer face things. He pulled on the steering wheel and ran head-on into the concrete abutment at 75 miles per hour. He died instantly.
The second man was on top of his game. It seemed as though everything had been going right for him lately. He had just gotten engaged to the most wonderful woman he had ever known. He had just closed two new very lucrative accounts that he had been working on for months, and today he was about ready to close the third. His future had never looked brighter. At this particular hour he was driving down the freeway on his way to close the third deal. He was talking to his associate on his cell phone going over the last minute details. There was some confusion on one of the points. His eyes dropped down to his briefcase where the document explaining the point was. He leaned down to get it, and as he did his other hand pulled on the steering wheel. In a flash he lost control and careened into a concrete abutment at 75 miles per hour. He died instantly.
Which accident was more tragic? Which life was more valuable? Proponents of situation ethics might take up the arguments, but they would miss the point. Perhaps the proper question is, "Which man was more dead?" Death plays no favorites. It honors no values systems. It is the great equalizer. One man purposely turned and the other inadvertently strayed. The point of the two tragedies is this; they are both dead.
Our proverb today is set in the background of a young man seduced by an adulteress. But the principle could be applied to any sin. Whether the victim of that sin has purposely plotted to go headlong into it, or the victim was distracted and in a moment of weakness strayed off the path of faithfulness and integrity - the consequence is the same. Death is separation. Sin breaks fellowship with God and it corrupts relationships with others. We might attempt to use our 'self-righteous' balance and place all of our good behavior on one side and weigh it against that one crucial mistake on the other side and think that it's enough to overcome - but that's not how death works. Death plays no favorites. One mistake is enough for death to exact its cost.
It would seem that we all are then hopelessly doomed, for we all have sinned and fallen short. But God in His love provided a way of overcoming the exacting cost of death. He bore the penalty of our sin in His own flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus never turned or strayed, yet He experienced death that we might be reconciled. Amazing grace! Yet, we must appropriate that grace through confession and repentance. It is an ongoing experience. Every time we crash into an abutment, we must climb out of the wreckage and confess our disobedience in either our intentional pull on the wheel, or our giving in to momentary distraction and then pulling on the wheel. And then we must repent - commit to Him and to ourselves not to steer or stray in that way again. When Jesus healed or forgave in His earthly ministry, He would often say, "Now go and sin no more." A call to repentance.
You cannot run into an abutment without some consequence. There may be some damage to overcome, some injuries to heal from, but praise be to God we have overcome the ultimate penalty of sin - the sting of death. Our relationship with God has been restored through the shed blood of Jesus, and there is healing in our relationships with our fellow man through that same blood. Confession and repentance. It is odious to self, but self got us into trouble in the first place. Why should we pay attention to it?