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Thursday, October 28
How about this for a movie?
The scene opens with the old, neighborhood busybody perched in her kitchen window. Through her peering eyes, we see people milling about in the streets of a small village on a warm summer’s evening.
But over there, over on the street corner, under the glow of the lamppost, stands one young man in a state of agitation.
Pacing in and out of the lamppost’s glow, nervously looking over his shoulder, the young man fidgets with his shirt, smoothes out his hair, and adjusts his coat.
Why? Because a certain woman, known for her friendliness, lives in the house on this corner. Her usual haunt is under this lamppost, as she watches for easy marks to stroll by. She sets her trap like the proverbial spider spins its web and entices its prey.
She is in her house and now emerges. Not what one would call high society, she is bold and shameless, not only in her manner but also in her attire.
Catching a glimpse of her, the young man wipes the sweat from his brow as his heart pounds faster in his chest.
The two of them exchange simple greetings. Then, the woman throws her arms around the young man, kisses him, looks him straight in the eye, and says, “I saw you from my window, so I came out here to meet you!”
Spinning her web of words, she tells him she has covered her bed with fresh, Egyptian cotton sheets, has put on her most expensive perfume, and has lit scented candles. “Why don’t you come on in?” says the clichéd spider to the fly. “We’ll make love all night long. We’ll be happy in each other’s arms. My husband is gone on a long trip, and he won’t be back for weeks.”
Then, she leans over and whispers to him, tickling his ears with her flattering words. Like trapped prey, the young man succumbs to the temptation, and the two of them disappear into the house, as the woman shuts the trapdoor.
And the end result? “He is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walks into a snare.” (Job 18:8 NKJV)
This is not a plot for a movie that I made up. This is real life, taken right out of the pages of Scripture and Lynnified from Proverbs 7:6-23.
Another passage (Prov. 2:16-20 NLT) encapsulates this whole scene: “Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the flattery of the adulterous woman. She has abandoned her husband and ignores the covenant she made before God. Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to hell. The man who visits her is doomed. He will never reach the paths of life. Follow the steps of good men instead, and stay on the paths of the righteous.”
But this scene is not just about succumbing to physical temptation. The temptress can be anything that woos us, batting its flirty eyelashes at us in an attempt to drag us away from God’s protection and into some sin. When we vacillate, we step in and out of His light, just like the young man under the lamppost.
What are you standing too close to…adultery, porn, gossip, pride, anger, cheating, lying, or anything else that God says is a no-no? Is it beckoning you with its come-hither finger of temptation? If you do not stay in God’s Light, you will succumb to sin’s seduction, finding yourself in its chamber of darkness.
When we fail to fill our hearts with God’s Word and stand on its promises, we end up saying to ourselves, “Oh, if only I had listened! If only I had not demanded my own way! Oh, why wouldn’t I take advice? Why was I so stupid?” (Prov. 5:12-13 TLB)
Is there a temptress luring you?
When once one has tasted the dainty morsels of heaven’s banquet table, the temptations of the world’s fare will never suffice.
