“Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!”

Solomon tells us that Folly wants us to believe a lie. He is pointing out how seductive sin can be. Does anyone doubt that? Of course not. If sin didn’t promise short-term pleasure or some kind of payoff, only a fool would indulge in it. This chapter makes it clear that it is foolish to indulge in sin, even knowing the reward is short-lived and false. More often, we are deceived into believing that the payoff—despite how fleeting it is—is somehow worth it. We rationalize that it won’t really hurt anyone, or that it’s not a big deal. The worst mindset is walking wide-eyed into sin, assuming God will forgive us anyway. While God’s forgiveness is real, one of Satan’s greatest strategies is to minimize the significance of that first step. For fans of C.S. Lewis, it’s like Edmund and the Turkish Delight. He gets us to take the smallest possible bite of sin, and once we do, he knows he has us. Eventually, that small bite isn’t enough, and we want more. So we indulge a bit further. Over time, we find ourselves deep in the grip of whatever sin he baited us with. The embezzling bookkeeper didn’t steal a million dollars at first. The person trapped in pornography didn’t begin by spending hours lost in dark lust. Satan starts with a small taste—and that’s all it takes to get us hooked. Today, flee even the very appearance of sin. #BeTheEdge

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬