THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF SIN

For the lips of a strange woman drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech;

But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two‑edged sword. 

Proverbs 5:3-4

Wouldn’t it be nice if sin wasn’t attractive or appealing? One would think it would be a whole lot easier to resist temptation. But that is not reality. Sin is attractive; our eyes are drawn to it. The question becomes: how do we respond to it, since we are naturally drawn to it in our sinful flesh? 

Part of the answer is in our text for today. Whenever we are tempted by the attractiveness of sin, we must remind ourselves of what that temptation really is. It is a facade. It is a mask pulled over the face to hide the true identity. If we pulled down the fake wall, or peeled off the mask we would discover the ugliest, most repulsive truth, “bitter as wormwood.” We would also see the perilous danger that is inherent with the temptation, “sharp as a two-edged sword.”

The second part of the answer is recorded later in the chapter, “Drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well” (v. 15). In other words, focus on the blessings that God has already given you in that area. 

A third response we must engage when we are attracted to sin is to turn our eyes to the Lord and remind ourselves that He is watching and He cares. Paul reminds us, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13). With God’s strength, pull off the mask of temptations today to reveal the ugly reality of sin, and turn your eyes to the Lord, our only source of strength. 

Joshua Steiner