Enticing Tares

Hi Ladies,

We’ve all heard or possibly even said it – “I don’t see what’s so wrong with this.” This statement isn’t just about intimacy, but is about any of the numerous actions or attitudes that are restricted or prohibited by the Word of God.  These are spiritual tares which the Holy Spirit through our conscience tries diligently to make us aware of.

But that is precisely the point – we truly don’t see.  When our physical person has gained preeminence over the spiritual, we can fail to see a lot of things that are happening to and around us. The dictates of the flesh speak insistently.  And our discernment can become overwhelmed by the physical when we are not in correct spiritual alignment.

With sufficient time and insufficient prayer, we will begin to lose the ability to understand what’s happening to us spiritually. And when we consider engaging in questionable activities we won’t become convicted and repentant, but will be defensive of our position, and convinced that whatever we want to do is “not really so bad.”

But this decline of spiritual awareness doesn’t happen overnight. We only need to heed the warning signs.  Here are two more factors that may be working to override our moral convictions…

 

PERVERSENESS

Perverseness indicates an impure motive, a behavior which Dictionary.com defines as “turning away from or rejecting what is right, or proper; wicked, corrupt.”

Proverbs 28: 6 – “Better is the poor that walks in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.”                                                                                                             
Proverbs 28: 18 – “… he who is perverse in his ways will fall at once.”

Perverseness exists in the church in subtle forms, but is there regardless. A perversity of motives is often expressed by women in our style of dressing, while men do it through physical touch.  The sister who always shows a little too much cleavage; the brother whose only form of greeting ladies is to hug them really tight; the girl in the short tight skirt; or the man who lightly strokes a woman’s hair, or brushes his fingers across her cheek… All are sending sexual messages under the guise of overtly Christian behavior.

The women are, after all, in church.  And the man is merely greeting the ladies by crushing their bosoms against his chest, or providing solace with his caress.  But each of these people is in danger of expressing either consciously or unconsciously, stronger sexual drives than spiritual ones.

 

DEFRAUD

The next sensual activity to be wary of is called “Defraud” in the King James version of the Bible:

Mark 10: 19 – “Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness , Defraud not, Honor thy father and mother.”                                                                                                                                                          
1 Corinthians 1: 7 – “Defraud ye not one the other.”

Dictionary.com defines this as “to deprive of a right, money or property by fraud.” Defrauding occurs when we promise, either verbally or by implication, something that we do not feel, or do not intend to give.

A common manifestation of this is the fellow whose words “I love you” come easily if they’ll help get the object of his lust more quickly into bed.  Many a silly woman has been defrauded by such empty verbiage into thinking that her sexual accommodation would become more than just a one night stand.  Or she’s been defrauded into believing that the man she’s been living with will eventually marry her, even though he’s been making excuses for years.

Women, however, practice defrauding when we go all out to entice a guy, then turn out to be something quite different than what we pretended to be.  Maybe our sweet demeanor masked the fact that we’re mean and bossy.  Or perhaps, like the old joke, on the honeymoon night she removed her wig, took out her falsies, popped out her dentures, and unhooked her peg leg.  This fellow has been defrauded!

Such manifestations of spiritual illness are attitudinal transgressions that must be brought under Our Father’s control immediately. Otherwise the devolution of our moral position in Christ will continue to progress.   It isn’t just about sex!

More next week – Joy and Shalom!