“With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.”

Without a solid grasp on the facts or truth, persuasive words can certainly be—well—persuasive. This passage is tied to a chapter that warns about the influence of someone seeking to seduce another. Outside of sexual sin, there is no shortage of areas where people may try to persuade or lure us into wrongdoing. That’s one of the reasons so many motivational speakers are successful, even when what they are selling is not worth all the hype. They are passionate communicators who influence and persuade crowds to follow their teaching. Cults are one example of groups that influence and persuade people into harmful and dangerous lifestyles. We all marvel at stories like Jim Jones and the Jonestown mass suicide. We shake our heads and ask ourselves, “How could anyone be that foolish?” Parents giving their children poisoned Kool-Aid—knowing it would take their lives—and then drinking it themselves. It seems like an example of groupthink gone terribly, terribly wrong. The key to not being persuaded by smooth-talking voices—not being drawn into sin, rebellion, or even a slow drift away from our Savior—is to know the truth. Jesus told us that if we know the truth, it will set us free. These other influences lead people into bondage. Today, choose freedom by knowing the truth. #BeTheEdge

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” — Jesus