Discover His heart: He calls us to a pure and moral life
Triple chocolate fudge cake with chocolate mousse filling…can you see it? I see it every time I pass by the dessert counter at my favorite restaurant. It’s not content to just sit there on the counter. No, it calls to me. In fact, it walks right up to me dressed in its seductive ganache icing, surrounded by a blanket of silky sauce and a perfumed dusting of cocoa. I inhale its fragrance, and it’s as if I hear it say, “You are alone, and no one will ever know you allowed my sweet, creamy mousse to kiss your lips, you deserve it.”
Seduced by its smooth flattery and clever words, I eat it, and then I am immediately filled with remorse, remembering “a moment on the lips, forever on the hips” and all the things I know to be true. I vow to never eat it again…until next time…when I walk that way once again, and it calls to me…triple chocolate fudge cake with chocolate mousse filling…Can you hear it?
All that to say that I understand seduction. Although too many fudge cakes may send me to an early grave, some enticements will send me to an eternal grave. In Proverbs 7, Solomon warned his sons about the road that leads to the grave through seduction. A much weightier subject than cake.
The way of the temptress is something to reckon with amid the vast array of seductive tools the enemy has at his disposal today. When I started in ministry 45 years ago, adultery was something that happened in society but was frowned on and discouraged. Today, it is accepted as a part of social living by many and often celebrated throughout the media. Men and women alike have yielded to the seductive call of the immoral man or woman, leaving behind precious children caught in the fray.
After counseling hundreds of hurting young people over the years, I can promise that there is not a man or woman on the planet worthy of sacrificing the security and peace of these dear ones – not one. They may act as though everything is great; but believe me, for most, it is not.
“Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands. Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes. Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.”(1-3) When I married and the beautiful wedding ring was placed on my finger, it wasn’t meant to be an ornament. It was intended to be a safeguard, a watchman if you will, to keep me from sin as I remembered its significance.
The ring, a circle without beginning or end, symbolizes an eternal agape love that is not threatened by the seductress or seducer. “So listen to me, my sons [and daughters], and pay attention to my words…Don’t wander down her wayward path. For she has been the ruin of many…her house is the road to the grave.” (25-27) Don’t wander over to the dessert counter, don’t go down the path to ruin Solomon warned. Heed the watchman.
Moving Forward: I cherish my wedding ring today and all that it symbolizes – eternal love, fidelity and the commitment to God’s morality, written deep within my heart.
Tomorrow @ Ezekiel 13-18
Phyllis Benigas 