Proverbs 5:22-23

An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.

It’s one thing to be taken captive by an enemy that can overpower you, subdue you, and bind you. But quite another when you lead yourself into the trap and secure your own chains. How foolish! It reminds me of every scary movie ever made where some stupid victim ignores every single warning sign and walks right into the killer’s trap while the audience yells, “Get out of there, you idiot!”

Sadly, we don’t fare much better when it comes to the captive power of sin. We may put up a pretty good fight the first time we engage in some sin, but the second and third and fourth time around? Not so much. Its amazing what we can get used to in our fallen state as we place the ropes of sin more securely around our own wrists with each passing lapse of self-control. Sin is never complicated. It’s always a simple Yes or No proposition. And the more we say yes to it…the stronger it’s grasp.

Dr. David Jeremiah has said that lust isn’t something you can manage – you have to starve it to death. The longer you stay away from it, the weaker it’s grasp. If you keep your distance, the ropes can’t “catch and hold you.” Alexander Maclaren paints a very sobering picture of today’s passage that must be looked upon with great consideration:

“Let us then remember how swiftly deeds become habits, and how the fetters, which were silken at first, rapidly are exchanged for iron chains, and how the craving increases as fast as the pleasure from gratifying it diminishes. Let us remember that no man can venture to say, ‘This once only will I do this thing.’ Let us remember that acts become habits with dreadful swiftness, and let us beware that we do not forge chains of darkness for ourselves out of our own godless deeds.”