“Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.” — 1 Corinthians 10:14 (NIV84)

One could easily take our verse for today and restate it as, “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from sin.” Throughout the Scriptures the prescribed method for dealing with temptation and sin is to flee the source. So I find myself asking a few basic questions of myself. Rather than flee from the Devil, why do I dance with him? Why do I flirt with temptation rather than run away? You see, there is an enticement there. We think something is being offered that we need or would like to have. This is why Solomon described folly (the opposite of wisdom) as an adulterous woman. He purposely wanted us to consider that there is a form of enticement there. At the same time, Solomon said that those who fall for her seduction end up in the grave. Her ways lead to death.

You see, I think we flirt with temptation and dance with the Devil because we think that what is at stake is the thing/moment/experience that is enticing us. This is just not the case. That thing/moment/experience is not an end. It is a means to an end. What is at stake is our very soul. Satan is a murderer and a liar. “He comes to steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10). As we dance with him he has a dagger at our back.

We need to look past the enticement to an enemy who wants us dead. We need to see the hatred and the hostility that is truly behind what is being offered. And then we need to flee! We need to run back to the security we find in the Father’s house. We need to commit our lives to His Word. We need to stay in constant communication with Him. Listen to what James said: “Submit to God, resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” The fact is, the closer we are to God, the tougher it is for Satan to find a crack. But always remember what Martin Luther said: “Don’t forget that Satan is a snake, and all a snake needs is a crack big enough to get his head in and then his whole body will follow.”

Let’s stay so close to our heavenly Father that we might fill in the cracks, and when temptation comes, flee from it!

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church