Proverbs 1:17-19 — Ridiculousin

READ THIS: Proverbs 1:17-19

17 How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it! 18 These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves! 19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

Yesterday, we learned about some tactics the enemy uses to lead us into sin (like making it seem like the sin is something that everyone else is doing or that the sin will lead us to some gain for ourselves). Solomon bursts out here to talk about how ridiculous that is. 

Have you ever done something bad that everyone around you told you not to do because it was so obvious that it was going to have terrible consequences? For example, weeks upon weeks in a row, I did not sleep at all, and everyone told me to stop doing that. They knew I was about to make myself sick. But, I didn't listen because not sleeping seemed like the best way to get everything I wanted, like time for homework, friends, and games. I ended up with a nasty cold a few days later. 

Sin works in the same way. Sin is clearly not going to go well for us in the long-term with God, but sometimes we choose sin anyway because it seems like the best option in the short-term. We think that we are somehow gaming the system, but really we're gaming ourselves. 

Sin is a trap that can be seen easily from the right perspective, just like how a net on the ground can easily be seen by a bird in the air. So, how do we get the right perspective to see the net/sin? Verse 19 helps...if we are "after ill-gotten gain" (if we are trying to get good things in a bad way), then we are not at the right angle to see the sin that we are about to get caught in!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Have you ever gamed yourself in the way explained above? What was happening?

2. Have you ever been able to see SO clearly that someone else was about to make a huge mistake, but that person thought it was fine? Why do you think you could see that so clearly and they couldn't?
 
TRY THIS:
 
Guided activity time!!!
1) Think about a good or neutral thing that you want (family, money, friends, sleep, etc) 
2) Think about a BAD way of getting that thing 
3) Think about a GOOD way of getting that thing
4) Think about what would have to happen for you to do the BAD way of getting it. 
5) What would have to change now about your life for you to never choose the BAD way??

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 13, 2023 at 4:42 AM

    Sometimes it is because you had already been down that road, had made the same mistake, or committed the same sin, that you can surely advise them not to. It is often because a parent or friend had already made that same bad choice and was trying to help you avoid it.

    ReplyDelete

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