Temptation is all around us, but sometimes I think we are caught off guard. How trusting should we be?
We don’t want to be scared all the time, thinking everyone is going to hurt us, but we also don’t want to think that everyone is good and is always going to be nice to us. The book of Proverbs takes a realistic approach to this question – there are wise people in life who will help you, and there are foolish people in life who will hurt you – because they want to have pleasure, be lazy, and always get what they want. These are the people we have to watch out for…and they are everywhere.
The specific warning in this passage – sexual temptation. It is everywhere. With the rise of the internet we have “depersonalized” sexual sin, but that is still a person who has chosen to tempt you, still people who are making money from the sin, and still you as a person who is getting hurt from the sin. The advice in this chapter – stay away. Stay away from the sin, guard your eyes and your thoughts, and remember daily the words of wisdom that can guard your choices. These are hard choices, and they require discipline and godly friends, but they make all the difference in life.