Series: Wisdom That Works
Message: Sexy Wisdom
Preacher: Mark Johnson
Reflection: Mark Witas
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Jessyka Dooley
Live Beyond: J. Murdock
Live Purpose: Kyle Smith
Editor: Becky De Oliveira

Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.

Read: Proverbs 5:1-23 in the English Standard Version (ESV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.

Reflect: “The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast” (Proverbs 5:22).

Violence begets violence. Wickedness begets wickedness. Evil begets evil. It’s not something that God has assigned or designated, it’s just the way things work. Cast your bread upon the waters and in the end it shall come back to you. Some would call it Karma. 

The Proverbs writer realizes that sin is what delivers its own consequence. 

Imagine for a moment that you have a five-year-old daughter who is all the things a five-year-old girl can be. She’s delightful, curious, mischievous, and the absolute delight of your heart. To protect her, you make a few rules. The first and most important rule is, “When we are in public, don’t leave my side and talk to strangers.” 

This is a good rule. Everybody knows it.

You go over this rule time and time again. You create scenarios that prepare your little love bug for eventualities that you know can come up in her little life. 

And then . . .

One day you are at Walmart picking up some groceries. You are distracted and don’t notice that your daughter has veered into the toy aisle. She’s seen a toy she’s always wanted and goes in for a closer examination. 

While there, a nice young man engages your child in conversation. He notices the toy she’s admiring and tells her he has several of them out in his car. If she’d like, he will take her to his car and give her one for free. Then he’ll bring her back to the store and find her parent. She leaves with the young man.

It’s only a matter of minutes before you realize your daughter is not with you. At first you search the store, then, as your panic rises, you have announcements made over the store intercom. Finally you are shown the recording of your precious little one leaving the store, willingly, with a stranger.

Let me ask you a question: Will your first, middle, or last reaction ever be, “When I get my daughter back, I’m going to punish her for breaking our family rule?”

No. Of course not. The thought would never cross your mind. Why? Well, because you are a well adjusted human being. The only thought you have is to rescue your daughter.

One of the things people say about God is that He’s going to punish people for their sins. In fact, they (we) teach that in the end, God is going to torture and kill all those who break His family rules. 

I would like to suggest that this is not the reality of God. He warns us against following the wrong path because He knows that sin is its own punishment. He knows the stranger who wants to lead you away is going to make your life horrible. The idea that God has to add to the harm that sin has already done is a wrong idea. God doesn’t inflict pain—God redeems. God doesn’t punish for sin—sin punishes. God doesn’t destroy the sinner—sin and Satan destroy. God redeems, heals, chases after, and repairs. 

Recalibrate: What are some of the misconceptions you have had about God, anger and punishment? How do they mesh with what you know about Jesus?

Respond: Pray these words: “Father, open my heart to Your goodness and my eyes to the self destructive nature of sin.” 

Research: Meditate on James 1:13-15.

Remember:  “For human ways are under the eyes of the Lord and He examines all their paths” (Proverbs 5:21, NRSV).

Mark Witas is the lead pastor at Sunnyside Adventist Church in Portland, Oregon.

Ask your child to show you where the love heart is from yesterday. If you missed yesterday, skip back to Thursday and start there. Using the same marker you used to draw the heart, outline the shape of a house around the heart. With your child, draw your family in the house—this house is made of love. This house is full of peace and joy. Love is kind and good. Love does not force. Love is patient. Love never gives up. Love always chooses to love even when everything and everyone else does not. Sound too good to be true? This is the house that Jesus built. He has the plans for your home ready to go. All you have to do is love with all your heart.

Proverbs 5:21 says, “The Lord sees everything you do. He watches where you go.” How does that make you feel? How do you think someone doing bad things would feel if he knew God was always watching him? He might feel scared or nervous. Do you think God is always watching you to punish you if you do something wrong? No way! God is watching you to help you. If you do something wrong, He wants to remind you that you are not that kind of person. You are His son or His daughter. How do sons and daughters of God act? Go live that way!

A while back I told a story about a time when I scared a group of middle-schoolers by telling them that they needed to spend a day thinking about what it would be like if everything they saw went directly to their mother’s eyes, and everything they said went to their grandmother’s ears. Cool experiment if you want to have nightmares for a few days about what Ma saw and what Granny heard!

I’m coming back around to this topic today because Solomon says something that puts that experiment back into focus. In Proverbs 5:21, he says, “A man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord and He ponders all his paths.” Which means that there isn’t anything that you’ve done, are doing, or will ever do that God isn’t aware of. 

This can be considered pretty scary or nerve-wracking when you think about everything you’ve ever done. But it also provides a different way of making plans for the future. Sure, we can all sit down and think that maybe decisions we made in the past weren’t the best choices and we may vow never again to do things that made us feel ashamed. But what if we used regret as fuel to make a better path forward rather than just look in the rear-view mirror and blush? 

Take a minute today and think about your plans for the future. For now, forget the past and let go of the fear that comes with your doubts and guilt, and think about this: God will always be with you in everything you do.

How might thinking of your future that way change how you operate? If God is with you, then who can stand against you? 

Something to think about today as you map out you next step on whatever path you choose: You’ve got a trusted partner walking right alongside you cheering you on! How do you want to proceed with that in mind? 

The choice is yours.

Have you ever felt held down by sin? We all have our guilty pleasures, our choice sins, the ones we turn back to when times are hard.

When I turn back to the cherished sins in my life, and refuse to give them to Jesus, I feel literally trapped. Sin and guilt are ruthless. Their goal is to destroy and kill you. But it is not just the mental effects of sin that hurt us—there are physical effects as well. 

When someone chooses to commit a sin, such as stealing a car, there will be real consequences for that sin. 

Remember this; no matter what we do, no matter how far we go, no matter how bad the consequences are, He is with us. If you find yourself trapped and ensnared by sin right now, call on Him. Your situation may not change, but your spirit will. Jesus always answers when we cry for help.

Zan Long is GRC director for faith development for ages 0-17. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and serves at her local church in nearby Kellyville.
Jessyka Dooley is assistant youth director for the Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Denver, Colorado.
J. Murdock is associate pastor at Boulder Adventist Church in Boulder, Colorado, where he focuses on youth and young adult ministry.
Kyle Smith is the associate pastor of youth and family ministries at New Haven Adventist Church in Overland Park, Kansas.