Temptation Personified

Once again I've returned to Proverbs for my early morning Bible reading. It's just so perfect for daily devotions - 31 chapters for 31 days of the month! I really enjoy the short, simple statements that contain all kinds of nuggets of truth. A few days ago I ran into one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible, one I'm going to attempt to commit to memory.

It can be found in Proverbs 7, specifically in verses 6 through 23. The early chapters of Proverbs contain many warnings against adultery, this one being one of the most vivid. And while it certainly deals with adultery specifically, I think it is symptomatic of how most (all?) temptations work in our lives as well.

In verse 7, we see a simple young man who lacks judgment. The word simple in Proverbs isn't used as a virtue, but rather as someone who is without wisdom. Perhaps a plainer word to use would be a fool. And we are just as foolish when we follow a course of action like his.

He makes his big mistake right here at the beginning, which is really where the battle with temptation is won or lost. We see him headed toward the wrong part of town, and at night to boot. What good can possibly come from this? Too often we allow ourselves to take one step towards sin and then find ourselves unable (or unwilling) to stop along the way.

Of course he finds the adulteress woman right where she's supposed to be. Verse 10 says she was "dressed like a prostitute" which makes me think she was dressed to kill. She looked good! And that's how temptation works - it always comes in its finest, drawing us in with how enticing it looks. Temptation would be so much easier to resist if it was simply a guy in an orange julius costume.

Deciding not to put ourselves in temptation's path is one of the best things we can do. Verses 11 and 12 show that she's all around, on every street corner. It will come looking for you, you certainly don't need to go looking for it!

So the woman grabs him and kisses him, further stirring his desire. The chances of him saying no and heading out of harm's way are already close to zero. The longer we allow temptation to hold our interest, the more we'll be drawn into its web.

In verse 14 she declares that she has fellowship offerings and has fulfilled her vows. Here I see her presenting herself as harmless and innocent. She is right with God! Certainly temptation comes at us this way, looking delightful and seemingly innocent. What harm could possibly come from one such as this?

She goes on to declare that she has been looking for him specifically. Of course she has! This is another way that we're drawn in to temptation - it offers us a feeling of significance, of security, of being wanted. The problem is that it's not really true but only a mirage.

She declares the great lengths she has gone to to prepare a place just for him, again leading him to feel special and wanted. Temptations come in a wide variety of forms, but they usually lead us to believe they'll fulfill our deepest desires and make everything better.

Now she makes her plea, inviting him to "drink deep of love till morning." Although the outcome is obvious, he still has a choice to make. She cannot make him fall into sin, but can only do her best to entice him. Unfortunately for him, he lost this battle when he started walking toward her part of town.

She now lays down her most powerful promise of all: there won't be any consequences! Her husband is out of town and won't be back for many days! Oh temptation, how you draw us in, promising that no one will know, that no harm will come of it, that there really are no consequences to sin. But once that choice is made, the voice changes to one of condemnation, haunting us with the words, "Everyone will find out what you've done!"

It is no shock what he chose, but it's quite startling how the writer portrays it:

"All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life."

And that's how temptation works: looking attractive, grabbing our interest, offering pleasure and fulfillment, promising innocent actions with no consequences. But in the end it leads to death, and we would be wise to stay far from its path.

As we all struggle with different things, we must recognize areas where we are weak and take steps to avoid them. And when temptation comes, the road to victory begins at the very first step when we choose to dismiss those tempting thoughts rather than entertain them, learning to apply the words of 2 Corinthians 10:5 "We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."