Proverbs 1:10-19

“My child, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
If they say, ‘Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us wantonly ambush the innocent;
like Sheol let us swallow them alive
and whole, like those who go down to the Pit.
We shall find all kinds of costly things;
we shall fill our houses with booty.
Throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse’—
my child, do not walk in their way,
keep your foot from their paths;
for their feet run to evil,
and they hurry to shed blood.
For in vain is the net baited
while the bird is looking on;
yet they lie in wait—to kill themselves!
and set an ambush—for their own lives!
Such is the end of all who are greedy for gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.” NRSV

I think we often think of being enticed as the strong influence of peer pressure, And, perhaps for all of us, there is still the lure of that kind of temptation. However, I think that the “enticement of sinners” for adults is often very different. It’s more about our own expectations of what life should be, of how people should act, of how relationships should mesh, of how our plans should succeed.

Our expectations are developed inside us by our own experience, education, and culture. It is the filter through which we look at the world and at our future. It’s one of the heart attitudes that influences how we react to everything around us. And I believe it’s one of the things within us that we rarely challenged or question.

Our expectations are often highly cultural, often strongly influenced by our society. I think that we are more influenced by the society around us—particularly how we think society operates based on the examples found in media—than we know.

As Christians in affluent countries, I think we need to become very aware of our own desires and motivation, always analyzing them to see if what we are searching for is actually what scripture says or is rather what we want in the flesh. We can be “enticed” very subtly. And it may not be as obvious as some of the remaining verses are: “let us wantonly ambush the innocent.”

There is, in this passage, the phrase: “we will all have one purse.” There is a strong desire within each of us to belong. We want people to approve of us; we want to have friends, to have companions. For some of us, the desire for peer approval is even stronger than in others. But the fact is, we can make decisions based on “the common good” that can be against what God says. The pack mentality can be very strong and it takes someone who is regularly in prayer, regularly in the Word to discern that, rather than making a “good” decision, we are instead being unloving, that we are being enticed into sin.

The other thing that is important in this passage, I think, is the phrase “who are greedy for gain.” I don’t think we realize how influenced we are by the media (television, the Internet, etc.) in our expectations of life. Let’s just take the idea of buying a new (or another) car. Advertisements tell us, over and over again, that the minute a car begins to give us mechanical trouble, we need to replace it. More than that, we deserve to have a new car, to have the new toys, to have the luxury of a new car. Yet, the most serious financial analysts all agree that one must own a car for a number of years in order to recoup the cost of the car. Clark Howard (a finance guru) has maintained, since the mid 1990's, the financial advantage of keeping a new car for at least ten years (and a used car for at least four years or longer). And yet, even with the best evidence at hand, many of us find ways to justify that new car purchase.

That’s just one example. Think of all the “new” things we want to have . . . big screen TV’s, the latest cell phone, up-to-date fashions, more advanced technology. The list can go on and on. The question we need to ask ourselves is why we “want” these things and if this really is the way that the Lord wants us to live.

It’s easy to be enticed by greed. Greed is a very insidious sin, not easily identified (particularly if everyone around us is also greedy). It’s also become a caricature in our society—Scrooge in a Christmas movie. But the fact is, an unwillingness to give to others in need, competitiveness in the workplace, dishonesty in dealing with money . . . any of these (and many more things) could signify a greedy spirit. Ultimately, greed is identified by what we consider treasure, what we cherish. The Lord Jesus told us:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21 NRSV).

Do we store up treasure in heaven or treasure here? I think that is a good indication of whether or not we are greedy.

This passage is quick to admonish us to choose another path: “my child, do not walk in their way, keep your foot from their paths; for their feet run to evil . . .” We choose whether evil or good. We choose whether sin or obedience. We choose whether following our lusts or following God. Hopefully, at the end of the day, we can join the apostle Paul in saying:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:7-8 NRSV).

© 2008 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. International copyright reserved. This study may be copied for nonprofit and/or church purposes only without permission when copied in its entirety (including this notice).