by Elder Peter Lim

In a 1993 a movie, a newly married couple was propositioned by a wealthy man whether the wife would spend a night with him for $1 million. Reluctantly they agree to the arrangement and the rest of the movie deals with the consequences of that decision. I wouldn’t recommend that anyone watch this movie but the dilemma posed is interesting. The question is, how far would you go for money? Would you be willing to sin for it? A Christian would understand that God hates sin…so this ought to be a relatively easy question to answer. Of course sin at any price is not acceptable. But what if the situation was altered just a tad so that the wife wouldn’t necessarily have to go all the way and cross the “adultery line?”  Most people would be tempted to overlook the motives of the heart in order to get the money and redefine the sin border. This is where I believe most failures occur in the hearts and minds of Christians.

By now, you’ve probably gotten the point that I’m not going to draw definitive lines for you to cross or not cross. Of course I’m doing this deliberately since I would not want you to try to live up (or down) to my standards. We sinners have a tendency to want our lines clearly defined as if THAT’s the issue. Instead, consider Proverbs 7:6-27:

6 For at the window of my house
I looked out through my lattice,
7 And I saw among the naive,
And discerned among the youths
A young man lacking sense,
8 Passing through the street near her corner;
And he takes the way to her house,
9 In the twilight, in the evening,
In the middle of the night and in the darkness.
10 And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.
11 She is boisterous and rebellious,
Her feet do not remain at home;
12 She is now in the streets, now in the squares,
And lurks by every corner.
13 So she seizes him and kisses him
And with a brazen face she says to him:
14 “I was due to offer peace offerings;
Today I have paid my vows.
15 “Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you.
16 “I have spread my couch with coverings,
With colored linens of Egypt.
17 “I have sprinkled my bed
With myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.
18 “Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with caresses.
19 “For my husband is not at home,
He has gone on a long journey;
20 He has taken a bag of money with him,
At the full moon he will come home.”
21 With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her flattering lips she seduces him.
22 Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,
23 Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a bird hastens to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24 Now therefore, my sons, listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths.
26 For many are the victims she has cast down,
And numerous are all her slain.
27 Her house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.

Why is this foolish young man walking by this woman’s house? Is there no other way to get where he’s going? According to verse 9 he goes by her house repeatedly and interestingly enough, during the darker hours. He must’ve reasoned to himself that walking by this woman’s house isn’t a sin, even at night. Perhaps he has even flirted with her in order to get her attention. She comes out and meets him, dressed inappropriately. Maybe he justified in his own mind that her clothing shouldn’t be an issue. Or maybe he even liked the fact that she wore edgy clothing, not like the “nice” girls of his day. Sure, her feet don’t stay at home but is that so wrong? Is that one of the Ten Commandments? She uses religious talk and flattery and assures him that there’s no way that they’ll get caught. Her religious talk seems shallow but he thinks he shouldn’t judge her. She “encourages” him. Fornication would be wrong, but is something wrong with caresses? It’s just a massage. No danger can come of that. Her husband will be away so there’s no chance his friendship with her can be misunderstood. All this time, he is unaware of her true motives and follows her like a lamb to slaughter. He shouldn’t have let his heart turn to her ways nor strayed into her paths.

There is so much more we can talk about here but my intention isn’t to write a commentary on this. The point has already been made that this foolish young man disregarded all the warning signs because he reasoned to himself that what he did wasn’t sin until it was too late. It is this kind of danger that we face whenever we start trying to define the sin border. Instead of fleeing from youthful lusts, we would rather pharisaically stay on this side of the sin border and ignore the hidden motives of the heart. As redeemed people who understand our own weaknesses and the supreme holiness of God, our desire and our actions must reflect a heart that hates sin and does all that we can to stay far away from it, instead of placing ourselves in the middle of the path that leads to destruction. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, we must be conservative and stay away from any questionable activities. We must do this not because we are so paranoid that we might cross the sin border, but because we love God and His holiness. Let us not be as naïve as to be led like lambs to slaughter.