“When you play with fire you either get burnt or smell like smoke.” That was a saying I learned many years ago and have probably said it so often that if someone paid me $1 for every time I have said it I could retire. 🙂  It is one of those sayings (IMHO) that just stays with you and carries with it eternal truth.

There are many people who do just what this saying suggests. They see how close they can get to the fire without getting burnt. Or to put it another way: see how close they can get to the edge of the cliff without falling off. The teenager (or anyone for that matter) who sees how close they can come sexually but not “go all the way.” A pastor who cozies up to another but tries to draw the line at full-blown adultery. An accountant who plays with the numbers in an attempt to fudge them a bit in order to make himself look good or to benefit financially (I think that is called embezzlement).  The person who says, “Just this once” but then finds himself craving the drugs.

Sin is like that. The enemy never makes sin look bad or ugly. The high, the good feeling, the adrenaline rush, the sexual release, whatever you may want to call it is never seen as ugly or bad. Why would he do that? Why would he make sin look so unattractive? We would all turn away if that was the case. Nope. He makes it look wonderful or fulfilling.  The Christ-follower is especially vulnerable to this approach. Bolstered by the belief that “I can do this” that person is prime beef for the enemy to pounce. But most often it is a slow and enticing process. I have yet to talk to anyone who just says, “WOW! That is blatant temptation. I think I’ll just give in.” He slowly entices, sort of the like the cobra that seems mesmerized by the musician, until one moment he strikes.

By then it is too late. The failure to be prepared to do battle against the temptation; the failure to expect the temptation to come; the failure to keep our eyes wide open to what is possible and what we are putting ourselves through by exposure to sin, eventually becomes that which takes us down. In Judges 2 the tribes of Israel were told to take the land and not leave anyone standing. The failure to do so would leave them vulnerable to false gods. Needless to say, they didn’t do as they were told. They fought battles but ended up living in and among those they were supposed to erase.  The result was compromise. They got too close to the fire and soon got burnt or smelled like smoke.

Don’t give into temptation. Let’s be aware of what “we are playing with.”