“Suddenly [the unwise man] went after [the adulteress], as an ox goes to the slaughter [not knowing the outcome], or as one in stocks going to the correction [to be given] to a fool, until an arrow pierced his liver [with a mortal wound]; Like a bird fluttering straight into the net. He did not know that it would cost him his life. Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, and pay attention to the words of my mouth. Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not stray into her [evil, immoral] paths. For she has cast down many [mortally] wounded; Indeed, all who were killed by her were strong. Her house is the way to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.” (Proverbs 7:22-27, AMP)

Back when I used to be a youth leader, we would spend the summer nights out in the church parking lot. Kids would bring their skateboards, scooters, and bikes and ride all around the property. We’d set up big firepits and volleyball nets for some good, old-fashioned goofing off after the meeting was over.

One night, I remember I was talking to a couple people by the backdoor of the church when I heard a scratching sound that would not stop. I looked all around the back stoop until I realized the scratching was coming from the gutter downspout of the church. This downspout went from the eave of the roof and continued underground and must have gone into some sewer system with the town. 

Quickly, me and a couple other people worked to get the piece of downspout disconnected from the pipe underneath. The pipe went down a couple of feet, so dark that we couldn’t see anything but a pair of panicked eyes at the bottom and lots of squeaking. Shining a light down, we realized it was a squirrel. He must have been on the roof of the church and fallen down the gutter into what was a sure death if we hadn’t came along.

We tried a few ways to get the little guy out of the hole, and we ended up feeding a piece of rope down the hole for the squirrel to climb up.

Our sin will entrap us in the same way. Like a little squirrel falling down a pipe that was hidden under leaves, or a bird in a net, or an ox to the slaughter, we often don’t realize the depths of our sin until we have been caught in it. To follow it to its end is certain death and without a Savior is as inescapable as that underground pipe. 

In Proverbs 7, Solomon depicts a young and inexperienced man that lacks the wisdom to turn from an adulteress. This adulteress tempts his every sense and beckons him to be with her. She lays her trap with a luxurious home and a sumptuous bed perfumed with oils and made with comfortable cushions and linens. She smoothly speaks to him and makes him feel desired. She tells him that their encounter will be full of love and delight– until morning. By the end of her invitation, the young man is completely allured and is persuaded inside. Solomon himself ends the tale saying, “He did not know it would cost him his life.”

Our sin separates us from God. It’s not a small thing. We can try to excuse it away or minimize it but if not confronted and given to Jesus, it will ensnare us. If not repented of and turned away from, it will consume us. We cannot claim to walk in righteousness and yet cling to our wrongs.

Solomon begs his son to listen to him and heed his warnings: Don’t let your heart turn to evil. Don’t allow your foot to even step in that direction. Remember, whatever is in your heart, your feet will eventually go. If your heart allows the temptation of sin to be entertained, if you do not guard yourself to be quick to identify the persuasions of the immoral, you will inevitably fall short. A mouse doesn’t usually sense the trap closing over its neck, they only see the bait. A crab doesn’t know it’s in a trap until the doors swing shut and the cage starts to rise off the sea floor.

If we lack spiritual, Godly knowledge, we will walk straight into the trap of our temptations. But if we gain God’s insight and listen to His word, we will be better equipped to be on guard against the sin that beckons us. Solomon warns his sons that the adultress’ home seemed inviting and promised delight, but that seemingly alluring home is the way to death. She’s led many others to it with the same smooth talk; that comfortable bedroom is a chamber of death.

Maybe today’s devotion doesn’t seem so encouraging. Maybe it’s blunt and a little heavy. But we need to be reminded of the egregiousness of our sin. Sometimes, we need to soberly take stock of where we fall short. Be encouraged. God’s Spirit desires to help you fight your sin. His wisdom is designed to help you root it out and live in a way that pleases Him. 

If our ultimate goal is to be spiritually wise and walk the path of righteousness, then we need to be quick to point out our struggle and allow God to transform it. The wise lean into instruction and correction so they can become more wise. The fool bristles against correction so that they can continue to ignore the ways they still need to mature.

Think of Godly wisdom as the rope we hung down into the hole to fish the squirrel out of the pipe. We had to try several times, feeding it in and out over and over before the squirrel finally caught the hint and grabbed onto the rope and climbed out. If we cry out to God for help and wisdom– if we seek the Lord and grab on to His understanding– we will find that wisdom is God’s hand extended to pull us up out of the trap of our sin.

It’s never too late to begin confronting the things we know we fall short in, to turn our direction back to a walk of faith and live a life in service and in the name of Christ.

Imagine you have a huge debt. I’m talking six figures. Whatever it is– medical, educational, a mortgage– it is crushing and the interest rate on it means that you will be paying it off for the rest of your life. The payments on that debt are so high that you will have to work and work and work around the clock to try and make it. Forget about vacations, luxury items, and eating meals out. You’re just lucky to have food on your table. Everything you think about, do, and work towards seems to have that debt looming over it, shadowing everything. No hope, no relief, no peace.

When we’re little kids, temptation looks innocent. Maybe it’s the late afternoon, dinner is in the oven and the table is set, but your mind just can’t get off of that jar of cookies on the counter. You try to resist temptation, thinking of how your mother would tell you no, but then you think to yourself that just one won’t ruin your appetite. Maybe you can just sneak one and no one will ever know. So you reach your hand in and grab it, but then think to yourself that you’ll probably want more– because just one won’t be enough when you could have three– and you swipe two more. Maybe you get away with it. Maybe your mom doesn’t find out.

When it comes to the opening chapters of the Bible, Eve always gets a bad wrap. And no, I’m not looking to play a blame game today over who caused the fall of man, but this week, I re-read this story and a lot of things jumped out at me that I’d like to take some time to look at. I don’t necessarily want to call this whole thing a “series,” but I might possibly take more than one week to unpack it.

Hey Pops, I’ve been frustrated recently, remembering where I’ve been in the past and not feeling like I’m there before. I know that I shouldn’t compare where I used to be with where I am now, but sometimes, I can’t help it. I feel like I should be deeper, more confident, or more satisfied. To be honest, I can’t put my finger on exactly what I feel is missing or why I can’t seem to stir myself up to enjoy you more consistently.

I think my favorite part about Jesus is that He does very intentional things in a roundabout way. The course of action He takes is almost never the one we would, but it always seems to work out better than what we could have ever forced together in our own strength. It’s because He sees the whole picture. We see dust, He sees an opportunity for life. We see a storm, He sees an opportunity to teach. We see a cross and a tomb, He sees grace and eternal life. So when the paralytic man in Mark 2 is lowered through the roof to sit right in front of Jesus, everyone expects Jesus to heal this man’s broken body. Instead, Jesus throws us a curveball.