Don't Buy The Ice Cream
“And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths, for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.”
Proverbs 7:24-27
I love ice cream. I know, I know, I have mentioned this before; which should help you to understand how serious this love of ice cream is to me. In all honesty I just love dessert. Ice cream just seems to be the easiest and most accepted form of household desserts. 1/2 gallons of ice cream are perfectly acceptable to have in your freezer at any time. But I had to stop buying it. I bet you already know why before I even explain.
If ice cream is in my freezer, I will eat it. I have pretty much zero will-power. It seriously haunts me through the day knowing I have ice cream available. I cannot resist, so I have decided to try my hardest to not buy ice cream. If it's not in the house, the chances are much less likely I will end up eating it. So I am proactively avoiding something I cannot resist. It's not that ice cream is evil, but my relationship with it is unhealthy.
For you maybe it's alcohol. Do you feel like you have to have alcohol everywhere you go, or like it needs to accompany every event you attend? Can you not drink it if it's in your house? Do you have power over it, or does it have power over you. Hint...if anything has power over you, it is your master, and you are it's slave. You aren't a slave to anything in this world except for righteousness. That's what scripture tells us.
The Bible calls us to make decisions like that to avoid being tempted into sin. While these verses are quite literally talking about avoiding the temptation of sexual adultery, there are numerous times throughout scripture that adultery is a metaphor for us putting other gods before the One True God. In Revelation, John writes about a prostitute that is so beautiful, tempting, and seductive. She wears expensive clothes and jewelry. The prostitute represents the seductive temptation we face to buy into the materialism of the world.
Temptation is a reality for us every single day, sometimes every hour. Maybe you do struggle with lust, and the desire to find pleasure outside of your marriage. Or maybe you are tempted by gossip. You love the attention you get when you are sharing personal information about others. We could go down the list: envy, greed, materialism, pride, gossip, jealousy, anger, lust, etc.
So now, read these verses again with the understanding that the word "her" represents temptation. The word "she" represents what the world has to offer. The word "her"is what YOU STRUGGLE WITH MOST!
“And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths, for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.”
Church. Don't buy the ice cream!! If you cannot resist temptation then don't stray into its path and think you can fight against it. Work on your HEART. Kneel down at the foot of the cross and ask God to help your heart not be turned toward your temptation. And until that desire is removed from your heart... DON'T STRAY INTO IT'S PATH! Be proactive to avoid the things you cannot resist. Because our sin bring death. It steals our joy. It ruins our witness.
We are more than conquerors when we have the saving grace of Jesus in our hearts and minds. Bow down to Him alone. Long for Him. Ask Him to remove your sinful desires so you have more room to desire Him. And don't buy the ice cream. Don't seek out your demise. Fight against it by making smart decisions and seeking Christ to change your heart.
This is not easy. It takes time and work. It also takes close Christian friends to hold you up while you battle through this tempting and seductive life we live on earth. Take forward steps to avoid temptation and seek out Christ. He will not lead you astray.
Love you guys.
B
Proverbs 7:24-27
I love ice cream. I know, I know, I have mentioned this before; which should help you to understand how serious this love of ice cream is to me. In all honesty I just love dessert. Ice cream just seems to be the easiest and most accepted form of household desserts. 1/2 gallons of ice cream are perfectly acceptable to have in your freezer at any time. But I had to stop buying it. I bet you already know why before I even explain.
If ice cream is in my freezer, I will eat it. I have pretty much zero will-power. It seriously haunts me through the day knowing I have ice cream available. I cannot resist, so I have decided to try my hardest to not buy ice cream. If it's not in the house, the chances are much less likely I will end up eating it. So I am proactively avoiding something I cannot resist. It's not that ice cream is evil, but my relationship with it is unhealthy.
For you maybe it's alcohol. Do you feel like you have to have alcohol everywhere you go, or like it needs to accompany every event you attend? Can you not drink it if it's in your house? Do you have power over it, or does it have power over you. Hint...if anything has power over you, it is your master, and you are it's slave. You aren't a slave to anything in this world except for righteousness. That's what scripture tells us.
The Bible calls us to make decisions like that to avoid being tempted into sin. While these verses are quite literally talking about avoiding the temptation of sexual adultery, there are numerous times throughout scripture that adultery is a metaphor for us putting other gods before the One True God. In Revelation, John writes about a prostitute that is so beautiful, tempting, and seductive. She wears expensive clothes and jewelry. The prostitute represents the seductive temptation we face to buy into the materialism of the world.
Temptation is a reality for us every single day, sometimes every hour. Maybe you do struggle with lust, and the desire to find pleasure outside of your marriage. Or maybe you are tempted by gossip. You love the attention you get when you are sharing personal information about others. We could go down the list: envy, greed, materialism, pride, gossip, jealousy, anger, lust, etc.
So now, read these verses again with the understanding that the word "her" represents temptation. The word "she" represents what the world has to offer. The word "her"is what YOU STRUGGLE WITH MOST!
“And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths, for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.”
Church. Don't buy the ice cream!! If you cannot resist temptation then don't stray into its path and think you can fight against it. Work on your HEART. Kneel down at the foot of the cross and ask God to help your heart not be turned toward your temptation. And until that desire is removed from your heart... DON'T STRAY INTO IT'S PATH! Be proactive to avoid the things you cannot resist. Because our sin bring death. It steals our joy. It ruins our witness.
We are more than conquerors when we have the saving grace of Jesus in our hearts and minds. Bow down to Him alone. Long for Him. Ask Him to remove your sinful desires so you have more room to desire Him. And don't buy the ice cream. Don't seek out your demise. Fight against it by making smart decisions and seeking Christ to change your heart.
This is not easy. It takes time and work. It also takes close Christian friends to hold you up while you battle through this tempting and seductive life we live on earth. Take forward steps to avoid temptation and seek out Christ. He will not lead you astray.
Love you guys.
B
Comments
Post a Comment