Proverbs 2:16-19

“You will be saved from the loose woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
who forsakes the partner of her youth
and forgets her sacred covenant;
for her way leads down to death,
and her paths to the shades;
those who go to her never come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.” NRSV

This reminds me a little of the last half of Romans 1, the passage where it leads from sin to sin to sin . . . to destruction. You see, for God all sin is the same. I’m not sure that’s true for us as human beings.

I used to teach youth at a former church. We did a series on sexual purity and one of the examples I used was a playground slide. Ever sit on a really good playground slide? The kind I’m talking about is the kind that really slick and slippery, so that once you start going, you build up speed and end up launching off the bottom. Most of them used to be like that (when I was growing) and you had to hang on like gangbusters at the top of the slide in order to get your balance before letting go and . . . wheee!

Most of the kids in the youth group immediately knew what I was talking about. There’s something about teens that are attracted back to playground equipment. So, I shared with them how sexual behavior is like being on a slide. That first holding-hands is at the top. You’re hanging on for dear life (to the slide) and haven’t started down yet. But once you let go (of your discipline), then it’s often simply the slide down and nothing you can do to stop (kissing, then petting, then . . . well, you get the picture). That example made sense to them and though many didn’t make the decision to “stay off the slide,” several did (including our son who chose to wait for that one right woman).

My point is this, though. We often make choices about “little” sins, think that they’re no big deal. After all, they’re little sins. Little lies. Little thefts. Little deceptions. Little gluttonies. But the fact is, we are teaching our bodies to respond to their lusts. And one sin can lead to another which leads to another which leads to another . . . and pretty soon, the sins aren’t little anymore and the consequences are far greater than simply going to the Father in prayer and confessing them.

This passage in Proverbs says, “for her way leads down to death.” It doesn’t cause death instantly; it leads us the way to death. There are points along the way we can stop and climb back to the top. But the further along we get, the harder the trip back. And for some sins, the consequences are long and arduous. There may also be the point of no return, the place where we are so entrenched in our sin that we no longer have the desire for the Lord: “nor do they regain the paths of life.” As Christians, we need to never get to the point where we take sin lightly or where we believe that a sin can be ignored. Even things that don’t seem like sins can add to our down fall. If the Spirit is speaking to our hearts, giving us wisdom and direction in any situation, we are prudent and wise to follow His leading.

© 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).