Proverbs 1:10 “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.”
It’s so easy to think about other people as we read this scripture. Who is it that would maybe draw us away from God’s best for us. For me, sometimes good ideas have drawn me away. I love to be involved, busy, engaged, with a list of things “to do”. The business itself can easily take me out. I prepare myself by having a pro-active wellness plan – to go for a walk each day with Wendy; I try to stay interruptible and to make time for the things that are good for my soul and my spirit. Often there is pressure to delay caring for ourselves as we care for and serve others. But if we are to truly love others as we love ourselves, then we are on a journey to an example that self-love first. It’s a discipline, so we become a disciple. It’s not a fad, and we are not a follower, rather we lead by example. I remind myself today – Don’t allow good ideas to replace God principles.
KNOWLEDGE
The writers ongoing and overriding sense of family, connection and belonging help us to hear the instructions fully. We are not being lectured, rather we are almost being wooed. The familial love of a dad for his children and his desire to protect, provide and promote are heard in-between the lines of text. There is a sense of pre-warning – gently and clearly encouraging us to be ready, to not be caught out, to equip ourselves with wisdom that guides us. There is a recognition that sin can look enticing, can be presented in such a way as to pull at our thoughts and emotions and so we need to be prepared and proactive so that when that moment comes, we do stand our ground, and we do know the power of a strong “no”. How well do you know “no”?
UNDERSTANDING: Let’s pick one word from this verse to look closer at and see if that can help us gain a deeper insight into how God would love us to live? The word for entice in the Hebrew language is pronounced “patah” and appears 27 times in the Old Testament. It is translated into the English words: enlarge; seduce; deceive; entice; simple; flattered; persuaded; allure; and, silly. In this verse, we pick up on the idea of being easily deceived, unguarded, and maybe even naïve.
WISDOM: what does your “anti-enticement” plan look like?
STRENGTHS THOUGHT – Input is a beautiful Strategic Thinking Strength – you ask the right questions at the right time, gathering critical information that enables great decisions. Your knowledge can help others follow the same path. You can develop great boundaries and so be sensitive to others bringing them just the right amount of information, with the right attitude, at the right time. Less can often be more. By being selective, focused and intentional in the voices you listen to, you can guard against indecisiveness.
Allan’s Unauthorised Version: [my beloved child, whom I will correct and discipline when others make sin look interesting to you through their choices and words, stand your ground with all you have and remember your relationship with me]
PRAYER: Father God thank you for today. Please help me to listen to you today and to walk in your ways.
Great thought today Allan. Love the thought of “Don’t allow good ideas to replace God principles” sometimes I think it’s a good idea, but rather, think about the God principle. Less information sometimes is more then enough. Great devotion today. Thank you once again for the encouragement and the challenging question.
Allen great points to remind us. And with the help of the Holy Spirit , to warn us ,because our father in heaven wants the best for us , we can be intuitive to the spirit of God that leads us into all truth. To keep us from danger or making a bad choice , to keep us from consenting to a decision we might regret . Our thoughts often become our actions (if we will apply a God filter to our thoughts ) therefore keeping our thoughts pure (wise) we can keep us from consenting to the sinners enticing . It’s in His strength we can resist
“stand your guard with all that you have and remember your relationship with me.” Im loving AUV version!
Thanks for sharing, Ps Allan!
Thank you Ps Allan. Loving one self, being a disciple, standing our ground, listening to the right voices, wait longer – move faster. Great nuggets of gold and remiders for me today.
My anti enticement plan…..every day I try to just focus on 4 things. God, my studies, what I eat and exercise. I also try to chat with half a dozen friends everyday. When I do these things, this is my anti enticement plan. Being in the word and having Gods word in mind all day leads to making better decisions….Godly choices. It’s harder for me to get off track doing these things.
I look at when things got off track in my life and my main priority was work. Not my wife, not my kids, not God. That was an enticement plan!
I love the way you outlined that Allan and how open u are. Good to hear how u overcome it too!!
Good morning Ps Alen
Great insight and guidance to avoid temptation and separate good ideas from Gods principals.
To care for ourselves is a good reminder too. Like the way to guards indecisiveness. The word “insightful patience” and “wait longer and move faster” these thoughts will help me in many different areas in life to make use off!
AUV is explain very clearly and directly!
Thank you
Blessings
Thanks Allan, very helpful! Anxiety, worry and the need to do all things we’ll have the power to pull me away from God. I am learning that when I come back to Him and trust him my thinking is clearer and more assured and anxiety lessens. I have taken most of this week off to think, plan and recharge.
Thank you. I had the write out a plan a few years back- just three points, cut and dry, scripture based. Those boundaries helped guide and lead me in uncharted waters. I loved reading and listening to Psalms and Proverbs during that time and I feel closer to my good and faithful God as I leant on Him and His Word. Amen
“Don’t allow good ideas to replace God principles” – that’s so powerful! I also love the idea of constantly being interruptible !
My anti enticement plan is to read God’s word daily and apply it to my life to the best I can .
To prioritize God and my family .
When temptation is around I think of how I’ll be letting down The people who love me ,(Jesus and my family and friends )and the devastating effects it would have directly on my children ,
Surrounding myself with Godly friends who will be a positive influence and who I feel accountable in some ways ,these little changes have helped me stay the path
Very powerful insight gained from today’s reading!
This very much spoke to my heart:
“if we are to truly love others as we love ourselves, then we are on a journey to example that self-love first. It’s a discipline, so we become a disciple.“
I’m challenged to look at my wellness plan and continue to be a desciple who examples self love to those around me. Thank you 🙂
Great thoughts Allan. I remember well a day when asa young Christian I was be enticed to my former life and friends and it took a word from God to change the course of my life that day. The importance of being His son or daughter, meaning we are in relationship with Him always, to not fall for the enticement cannot be underestimated. Thank you for some more thought provoking wisdom.
Such interesting thoughts Allan !
The temptations of this world are very great, they appeal to our flesh and offer an illusion of fulfilment and gratification which can corrupt our spirit. As you’ve mentioned it is not always others who entice us to sin but can be our own thoughts, emotions or actions.
I believe that the Holy Spirit convicts you when something is ‘sinful’. People will say that your conscious tells you if something is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ but I believe this conscious is the Holy Spirit who we have asked to live within us. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and strength not to easily give in to sin that surrounds us daily and redirects our focus back to the word of God to combat temptation.
Thank you Pastor Allan for being so transparent & wise in your writings! I see God’s care & love towards me here by exhorting me to guard my heart & not place myself in a position with the wrong influencers to make unwise & impulsive decisions. Always balancing my life both physically mentally & spiritually on a daily basis is a great habit to get into. These are all so closely entwined together with having strong Christian relationships with those who we can trust & share with openly. I believe doing these disciplines in our daily lives is a safety net to keep us from being vulnerable to temptation.
Thanks again Allan. This is such a good, strong and great insightful post. Loved this anti- enticement line you have – ‘don’t allow good ideas to replace God principles’.
There are a lot of good ideas out there but not all serve me well.
I am learning to not rush into making decisions without thinking them through. They may be good ideas but If there is no God relevance, or necessary for my purposes I choose not to be involved.
My Anti- enticements include asking questions about the urgency of being involved in anything, the purpose for it, who will benefit from it, what future if any comes from it. I read, go for walks, and eat well (with some chocolates thrown in sometime) 👍🏽
But if we are to truly love others as we love ourselves, then we are on a journey to example that self-love first. It’s a discipline, so we become a disciple. It’s not a fad, and we are not a follower, rather we lead by example. I remind myself today – Don’t allow good ideas to replace God principles. “ it’s so hard to do this consistently.. itS so true that is a discipline- often learnt the hard way. 🙂 thanks for encouraging us on this.. really appreciated the business breakthrough.
Great insights pastor Allan!
So true… there is a sense of pre- warning gently and clearly that encourages us to be ready, and not be caught out, to equip ourselves with wisdom that will guide us.
In the faith journey we need God’s wisdom and knowledge in our daily walk. And as servants of God in the vineyard we need to lead by example to those that are around.
Again the Love of the Father giving us advice as to how to live our lives and be wise to who we trust and why
We all get busy and put others things before God but many times what is good may not be good from God.
Let ya be wise Lord and know where to go how to walk how to be an example of Love without compromising your Holy name.
In Jesus name.
Amen
This has highlighted something I’m working on this year. I have reflected that my life balance was once much better than it has been in the last couple of years. I realised that I had this protected balance so my family came first. It’s amazing to realise that GOD wants this same balance just for me. That HE loves my servant heart but HE does not martyr HIS faithful. I will be drawing upon HIS wisdom this year to bring myself back into HIS balance.
Beautiful insight and foresight Susan!
Less can be more, small can be grand in the kingdom of God. I still try creating space for God to move in my daily life and in my ministry, I wonder how that would look like in relationships and in family.
Great reflection on Wisdom! The root of our enticement to sin often lies in the temptation to take shortcuts to what we perceive as good—whether it’s “Power,” “Sex,” or “Money.” My personal anti-enticement plan is rooted in the truth that Jesus is all I need. No matter my situation, I strive to trust God fully and not rely on my own understanding. I bring my requests to Him but remain resolved to find contentment in all circumstances, knowing that His provision is always sufficient.