Proverbs 1:10. My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
Everybody likes to fit in. Have you ever tried to fit in with people that were a bad influence on you? To be welcomed and accepted is a natural human desire. Solomon is warning his son that often we choose to fit in with the wrong people – sinners.
Naturally everyone is a sinner, but Solomon is talking about people who like to sin. They act selfishly and don’t care who it hurts. They know something is wrong but they do it anyway. Worst of all they try to entice others, especially the naïve to join them. Thus the book of Proverbs – don’t be naïve. Don’t be a fool. Don’t be too easily enticed.
Enticement is what broke the world. The serpent enticed Eve. Eve enticed Adam. Satan, the angel of light, entices us to this day. Chances are if any part of your life is a wreck right now, it is because you were enticed into doing something that you knew you shouldn’t do. You consented. You chose. We always choose what we believe is most satisfying. That’s what enticement does, it makes you believe that sin will be satisfying.
But it never is. Not fully. Sure, maybe for a brief time sin satisfies a lesser, more shallow desire. Sin almost always feels good in the moment, but its temporary pleasures actually send us down a path of death and darkness. Sin makes promises it cannot keep. It withholds information about consequences. By its very nature it always leaves us wanting more, thus placing us in that sick cycle of addiction.
Remember, we all sin out of a sense of delight, not duty. The lie of sinners, especially THE sinner, Satan, is that the sin will make you better, happier, more fulfilled than what you already are. At its core this is a faith issue. We are trusting something to bring joy and peace to our lives, other than God.
So how do we fight off the enticement of sinners? With the enticement of Christ. We fight desire with desire. Christ is better. Plain and simple. This is the only way to reject the propositions of sin. We don’t overcome sin by denying our desires, but by channeling our desires towards an even greater for Jesus.
Enticed by love of money? What are you desiring? Security? Status? Christ offers both in a far better way – a personal relationship of love. Enticed by sex? What are you desiring? Love, acceptance, power? Christ offers these to you by his eternal love and acceptance of you and the resurrection power that he has placed into your life by the Spirit.
Again, this is a faith issue, not just a behavior issue. God never wants our obedience apart from our faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God, Hebrews says. To reject the enticement of sinners is to live by faith in the one who loves us (Gal. 2:20). To trust that his love is better than everything else in life.
You: In what ways does sin entice you?
You in Christ: In what ways does the love of Christ entice you? Draw you in?
Christ in you: What is Jesus enticing you to do that you simply need to consent to (choose to do)?
Pray: Father, entice me into your grace and love today. Jesus, entice me to be like you and give me such joy in Christ-likeness that the enticement of sinners is absurd to me. Amen.
To Live is Christ 