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'For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.'

The grass is always greener

Temptation's a funny thing. Whatever is not right here, right now, always looks like being so much more appealing, exciting, and satisfying than what we already have. A married man falls into the arms of another woman...but why? He knows it's morally wrong, he knows it would be effort to get her and keep it a secret (far more than simply putting effort into his marriage), it could never beat the satisfaction of married life because it wouldn't have the security of marriage alongside it...but that woman is just so tempting!

We talk about temptation and sin as if it's simply something we shouldn't do, but we often make the silly mistake of under-estimating its power. Let's acknowledge right now that the forbidden will always appear to be more satisfying that wherever we are right now - that's why it's tempting!

Over-promise and under-deliver

I work in a service industry where the mantra is to always under-promise and over-deliver to keep the client happy, but sin doesn't do this, it does the exact opposite! Sin promises satisfaction but delivers thirst. Sin promises fulfillment but delivers disappointment. Sin promises connection to others but delivers isolation. It promises smiles but delivers frustration and tears. The picture is clear: it looks like honey, but tastes like wormwood - a herb that's distinctly bitter to the taste. It's like being promised a delicious mango juice that tastes like pure lemon juice.

It's easy to think that sin gives us short-term satisfaction with an eternal downside, but the Bible says that isn't the case. We think 'if I cheat on my taxes I'll make God sad, but at least I'll be rich!' but the Bible tells us that even that short-term satisfaction will disappoint us - and we know that to be the case! Too much money leads to more awareness of how little we have. Too many women (read: more than one; your wife) makes a man more aware of his wife's imperfections. Too much tasty food leads to more awareness of how bland bread is. Listen: sin always disappoints.

More than we realise

So sin delivers more disappointment than the spiritual concepts we're familiar with, but it most certainly does deliver those disappointments, and they are worth considering. It's become popular nowadays to deny the existence of hell, or punishment, or even objective morality and sin itself, but just look at what the Bible promises us: death, Sheol (hell), permanently wandering with no idea of what's happening...it's fair to say that these are consequences we ought to avoid.

I don't need to spell it out: stop sinning. It disappoints in the short term and only delivers bad consequences in the long term. But if we stop there we're missing out on the true purpose of this passage - it isn't about us, it's about the beautiful woman who delivers on her promises: Wisdom - a picture of Jesus Christ. He has already been tempted in every way, yet never sinned. He has taken on the consequences of our sin; he became sin for us. We must forcefully fix our eyes on him, the one who promises and delivers on eternal joy and peace to those who have faith in him.

Glory to God!

"'Winging It" from Stan Smith

Washed by the Water of the Word