Proverbs 5 -- Turn Up The Volume, Father!

“Be careful and use good sense.”  That’s certainly the best advice when approaching a potentially tempting situation.  Solomon particularly deals with sexual sin here, and he describes how tempting and delicious Satan has dressed it up to be, but he also tells us how the sweetness turns to bitterness, how the experience quickly turns from gain to loss, and how purity turns into pollution, my commentary noted.  “The most expensive thing in the world is sin.”

 

So many times, I think people decry being told not to indulge in sexual sin by people whom they feel have probably never tried it and don’t know about the pleasure it promises.  They feel that these people don’t know what they’re talking about.  But Solomon sure did, because his father had come clean with the whole nation of Israel about his sexual sin with Bathsheba.

 

According to my commentary, temptation always includes hopeful promises that even at first seem to have been fulfilled.  That’s the myth of the greener grass.

 

Temptation also leads to bondage.  “It’s impossible to sin without being bound … The cords of sin get stronger the more we sin, yet sin deceives us into thinking we’re free and can quit sinning whenever we please.”

 

The last three verses speak volumes:  “The Lord sees everything you do, and He watches where you go.  An evil man will be caught in his wicked ways; the ropes of his sin will tie him up.  He will die because he does not CONTROL himself, and he will be held captive by his foolishness.”

 

We always seem to think that we are the exception – that we’re stronger and won’t suffer the consequences.  That’s a lie of Satan – probably his favorite because he taps our pride in using it.  A godly life consists of controlling ourselves according to God’s laws and commands, because He made us and knows how we tick.  Satan only wants our destruction because his only motivation is to get back at God using us to do it. 

 

Father, I need to hear this every day.  We all do.  It doesn’t matter the nature of the sin.  All sin seeks to ensnare us and to drive a wedge between us and You.  Please turn up the volume of Your warnings above the noise Satan makes to keep me from hearing You.  Be loud and clear to my heart!