“Feed me, Seymour.”
TODAY’S PROVERB: They will keep you from a seducing woman, from the foreign woman with her seductive speech. Proverbs 7:5, TLV
Seduction is more than our typical image of the “temptress” who lures the unsuspecting soul into sexual sin. To seduce someone is to persuade them to disobey or be disloyal. It can also mean leading someone astray with false promises or persuasion. That opens a whole vista of opportunities for temptations to get the better of us.
Seduction is a temptation that begins gradually. The persuasion begins simply, and seemingly innocent enough. But, in most cases, there are real signs that “something” isn’t right. If we don’t discern its true origin, it can grow inside us until a sin doesn’t seem like a sin.
Did you ever see the movie, Little Shop of Horrors. Meek flower shop assistant Seymour pines for co-worker Audrey. During a total eclipse, he discovers an unusual plant he names Audrey II, which feeds only on human flesh and blood. Initially, its needs begin small. Seymour plays whet nurse to the plant by allowing it to suck from his fingers — suck blood, that is. The growing plant attracts a great deal of business for the previously struggling store. But, as the plant grows, so does its appetite, until Seymour must resort to the unthinkable.
The plant begins so cute, but its appetite should have been the tip off that there was only one destination that appetite would take it.
And that is a vivid image of seduction.
We may think those seductive thoughts will go nowhere, but once we entertain them — think them “cute” or “interesting” — they grow. Not only do they grow, but they plant roots in us. At some point seduction will turn us over to temptation, by then it will seem overwhelming to resist. And, what began is innocuous, will want to devour us.
Playing with or near temptation is never a good thing. Sin is crouching at our doorway (Genesis 4:7) looking for vulnerable places to wrap its roots around us. It turns on the charm to seduce us and keep us distracted.
When we walk Wisdom’s Journey — when we live the Bible — we will develop our wisdom, knowledge, discernment, and understanding. We’ll spot those seducing thoughts or people or situations. Avoiding a small “plant” is much easier than running from a “man-eating” one.
May we avoid seduction, my friends.
Proverbs 7:5 Tree of Life Version – TLV, #tlvbible, #tlvproverbs
