"For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword." Proverbs 5:3-4 The well-worn method of Satan is to seduce a person with pleasure. If one doesn't know Satan, if one does not understand his ways, how can the person avoid the seduction? Just as the most important thing in life is to know the Lord, one must also know his enemy. "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1st Peter 5:8 Satan plots and plans to devour YOU. When you are tempted with the pleasure that is in sin, stop for a moment and think hard on what is happening. Temptation by definition will always come to you as pleasure. You will feel the pleasure even just thinking about it. THAT is the work of Satan, and his intent is to use it to destroy you, to devour you. He never shows you the price tag. Resist, therefore. Resist the seductress, because her feet will lead you to hell. "Her feet go down to death, her steps lay hold of hell." Proverbs 5:5 When tempted, pray for grace to overcome, it doesn't come naturally. You are being seduced by a supernatural enemy, he's targeting your weakness with imaginations of pleasure, and only the grace of God can enable you to resist. Don't go near. Stay away. vs 8: "Remove your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house..." If your weakness is sexual attraction, consider seriously the immorality of the one seducing you. She will use her wiles, her flatteries, her evil offers of pleasure, but should you fall to her, she will stain you with sin and lead you on a path you never intended to go. Because the lure of sin is deception - you'll be convinced you're ok. "Sin fascinates, then it assassinates. It thrills, then it kills. It will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you were willing to pay." -Adrian Rogers "For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, and be embraced in the arms of a seductress?" Proverbs 5:20 Your iniquities will trap you. You will be caught in the cords of sin. You will be chained to sin and it will be hell to try to get out. vs 22: "His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin." Don't do it. Don't go there. Pleasure is but for a moment. It's not worth it! If you're addicted to sin - any sin - cry out to God for deliverance. It is only HE who can set you free.
There's something I've always wondered about in the story of the rich young ruler in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10, beginning in verse 17. This is about the man who all his life had striven to do right. He was a good man, just and true. Then one day he comes to Jesus, and asks him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answers, telling him to relinquish his riches and come follow him. And the rich young ruler walked away from Jesus "grieved, for he had great possessions." The part that stands out to me is the fact that Jesus didn't run after him. If it had been one of us ministering to that rich young man, when he turned to walk away we would have run after him pleading, "wait a minute, you don't understand, you don't get it! You must understand that there is no losing when you walk with Jesus, anything you lose for his sake is returned to you a hundredfold, and eternal life on top of that! Don't be foolish! Relinquish to him whatever he asks of you. The way to receiving is through relinquishing. Please think again, please reconsider." But Jesus did NOT run after him. He did NOT argue with him. He did NOT say those words to him. He just let him ...turn and walk away. What I glean from this is that we cannot trifle with God. What he asks, we must be ready to relinquish, KNOWING that there is no losing in him, and that whatever we relinquish at his beckoning will be only for our GAIN. The walk with Jesus is a walk of obedience in faith, in a perpetual attitude of relinquishment, but it’s relinquishment in trust. The Lord probably isn't going to tell you to give up your riches and come follow him. He said that to the rich young ruler because this man's riches were the most important thing in life to him. When the Lord deals with his followers, he'll finger whatever our treasure is because we have to be willing to surrender all if we are to walk closely to him. vs 28-30:
"Then Peter began to say to him, 'See, we have left all and followed you.' So Jesus answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my sake and the Gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions — and in the age to come, eternal life.'" In other words, you don't lose when you relinquish. The promise of God is this: "But seek FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and ALL these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:33 This is a promise from almighty God to anyone who is willing to walk by faith. Having walked this way now for many years, I can attest to the absolute faithfulness of God to his Word. I lost all, only to gain all. And, I can add, it's a life of joy and excitement, plus a rejoicing in the promises of the world to come. As the apostle Paul said: "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. But indeed I also count all things loss, for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ..." -Philippians 3:7-8
"...to seek one’s own glory is not glory."
Proverbs 25:27
When a person seeks recognition for himself, that very act removes the worth of it, and this is extremely difficult to resist doing. I listen to many interviews with people who have risen to prominence, and to a man they cannot cease to say, "as I said in my book..." over and over again until we're weary of hearing it. They may have gained fame and fortune because of their book or whatever work they've accomplished, but this kind of "glory" is worthless in the eyes of God. The very act of trying to bring glory to oneself makes it worthless.
"But all their works they do to be seen by men.
They make their phylacteries broad
and enlarge the borders of their garments.
They love the best places at feasts,
the best seats in the synagogues,
greetings in the marketplaces,
and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’"
Matthew 23:5-7
In other words, they dress richly, have their hair done just so, and they seek a name, they seek to be admired and honored before men and to be called "doctor so-and-so."
vs:12
"...whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
God hates pride. It was what brought Lucifer down, the greatest of all the angels, now known as Satan. Of all the souls of men in hell, most of them were brought there by pride. Pride is the great destroyer. It drives men to sin. It gives men a false impression of themselves. Who can resist pride? Only those who know the Word of God and heed its many warnings against it.
"God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble."
1st Peter 5:5
Any follower of Jesus Christ is going to find that the Lord will not allow pride in their lives. Look at the great apostle Paul. He says he was given "a messenger of Satan" to afflict him, something he called "a thorn in the flesh." He said he was given that to keep him from pride. He was the author of a large part of the New Testament, and he was the founder of many churches throughout the Middle East and Europe. Oh HOW that could have made him proud. But God protected him by sending this affliction which Paul said was grievous and was meant to keep him from pride. Read about it in 2nd Corinthians 12:7-10.
Paul goes on to say:
"Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
Do you have an affliction? Do you have troubles? Sometimes, certainly not always but sometimes, afflictions are given to believers to keep them from pride. Men strive against these afflictions to no avail, not realizing that they are God's protection from the destroyer called pride. Once God confirms to a person that, like Paul, the affliction is God's protection against pride, then the believer must stop striving against it and actually be thankful for the loving protection of God who keeps them from destruction.
Don't fight it, believer. Accept it and go on. There is great power in surrender. Surrender brings peace to one's soul and makes him usable to God in a way nothing else can.