GETTING BURNT

Proverbs 6.25-29
GETTING BURNT
Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?

SOME PEOPLE TREAT SIN LIKE AN OLD friend. Whether it be drinking, an illicit affair, or greed for money, they say, "Don't worry, I know my limits. I know how far to go." Do they? They seem sure they won't get too close to become committed. They seem to believe that somehow when they get within a centimetre of "too much", an in-built mechanism will repel them from the edge!

All this is wishful and foolish thinking. No one puts fire on his lap, or puts his feet into fire, and gets away unscathed. Perhaps you may not get badly "burnt" the first time, but you will be soon enough. Solomon warns us against two things here. The first is the false confidence in self. We think we know where to stop. But the truth is: sin is a slippery slope. Once we choose to go on it, our brakes may not work. If they do, we may decide not to use them.

The second is the seemingly harmlessness of sin. What can a little drink do? What can a little affair do? What can a little greed do? We may as well ask: what can a little fire do? It will set the clothes ablaze. It will scar a person for life. It will destroy him. Why invite trouble when it is intent on harm and destruction?

These warnings are especially relevant when applied in this passage to a young man toying with lust. "Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes," Solomon cautions, "for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life" (6.25-26). Lust, like love, is an extremely powerful emotion. But there their similarity ends. While love seeks to give, lust desires to possess. While love embraces the whole person, lust wants only the body.

Ironically, lust is its own punishment. The more it gets, the less it is satisfied. The more the eyes are filled with the objects of lust, the emptier the heart becomes. Energies are dissipated, dignity is betrayed, life is wasted. The victim is soon reduced to ruin and pity. On top of that, he has to reckon with an enraged husband, and may lose his name, his well-being, even his life (6.32-35).

What is true of lust is true of other sins. In whatever form sin comes, it is never safe to make its acquaintance. The best way to deal with sin is keep a distance. Read the sign well: Fire! Keep away!

Am I playing with fire?