Bait and Switch
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed James 1:14 KJV (Cambridge Edition)
Enticed – The last word in this phrase is the Greek word deleazomenos. It comes from the imagery of hunting. It means “to bait or trap.” We sometimes see it translated as “seduced” or (as in this verse) “enticed.” Isn’t this an interesting picture? James is telling us that those inner impulses and desires that hope to drag us off the right road are not wonderful, exciting, enjoyable experiences, dreams and hopes. They are bait. No matter what we feel, it’s a trap!
It’s so hard to see things for what they really are. Life is like a great magic act. What you see isn’t what you get. Magic works only when it makes you believe that you see something that isn’t really there. That is exactly what our inner impulses and desires do to us. No wonder the Bible offers so many warnings. Left to ourselves, we are like victims in a maze of snares, each one carefully disguised so that we think it offers relief, escape or pleasure. Until the jaws snap closed.
How do we avoid these traps? How do we turn away from the bait? There are two clear methods. The first is to look somewhere else. Actually, the Bible tells us that the way to stay on the right road is to use God’s word as the guide. “Your word is a lamp for my feet” is a useful metaphor. Lost in the dark, there is nothing better than a good old Coleman lantern. Lots of nice, bright light to make it back to camp in the dark. Next time you spot a trap, turn on the light. Secondly, any fisherman knows that the fish don’t bite when they’re not hungry. So, lesson number two is to fill up your life with God and His family. Bait isn’t so interesting when your stomach is already full. Twelve Steppers have a little motto that serves as a warning: HALT. It tells us to watch out when we are Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired.
The common thread of both of these avoidance plans is to stop relying on your own senses. Stop thinking that what you see is the way things really are. Stop listening to your own inner voice. We need outside information before we can understand the mess we are in. We need God’s point of view as our measure of true reality. We need to see things the way He sees them. That means we will often be at odds with the appearances of the world. We will alter our behavior based on what His word says, not on the world’s appearance. We will spend more time listening to Him than the time we listen to ourselves. Otherwise we will be hooked.
Stay on the road today. Stop at every service station and fill up on God. When you see an exit sign, check the map first. It might look green over there, but it’s only bait.
Topical Index: bait, entice, deleazomenos, James 1:14
A wonderful instructive word, thank you!!
And this “word” has been helpful to me: “Look for the hook!” Underneath that appealing bait lies something that spells trouble for Mr. Fish. Here is the devil’s LSD. Lust. Sin. Death. Lust (strong desire) is the seed. When lust has conceived- .. The starting point (it starts with so seemingly innocently an “opportunity”) And there is no shortage of temptation either– there is pogey bait (remember pogey bait?) everywhere! We (all) will be tempted. It is not a sin to be tempted!! If you are not tempted, you do not have a pulse. – You’re dead.
LOOK FOR THE HOOK! – Where is this leading to?- and nip it in the bud! Just like a cancer, – early detection,- early cure!
Beware of fool’s gold! Sure “looks good” doesn’t it? Yum! -yum! It’s lip-smackin’ good (poison). Is this water pure or does it have a drop of gasoline in it? Don’t read it!- Sign it!- Rush into it! Fools rush in where angels fear to tread! and he who would not fall ought not to walk in slippery places!
Here is some mondo-help.. for those who are “struggling.” Is it possible to take a bone away from a dog? Answer? – Offer the mongrel a steak. But there is a problem,. most of us puppies have never seen “a steak..” and wouldn’t recognize a slab of beef if it we were slapped upside the head with it..
As you have suggested brother Skip, ~ A sated man loathes honey, but to a famished man any bitter thing is sweet ~ Hungry? Good… fill up on Jesus. ~ You cannot fill a vessel that is already full. But what are the contents of the cup? ~ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in Me, and I in him ~ (John 6.56) Huh? Christian cannabalism? lol! No, we have been invited to be participants in the life of Christ. He (the Messiah) now lives and resides and remains in us. We are His body, His purchased possession. His desire is to cleanse us, fill us, and use us. Strange, but my desire is the same. For Him to cleanse me, fill me and use me!- Amazing how that works! But this is the new desire of my heart! My “want to’s” have been changed! I am the “new (and improved!) man!”
How many of you “want” to sin? Raise your hand. No takers? – why not? Look at all sin has to offer. Go ahead, I’ll wait.. Hmm.. (things that make you say hmmm..) The wages (consequences) of sin is death-disease-defilement-depression-disability-derangement-disillusionment-disaster.. and yes, there is more..- so much more- does this planet (or your neighborhood) or even closer to home- look like the garden of Eden? Yes? No? why not? Because we (yes we) have messed things up royally. From reigning to ruination- thank you sin. Thank you very much.
We (yes we) need a Savior, today. Every day and in every way, in every place and at all times- we need a Savior. He has said (we do remember His instructions- right?)- “without Me (carl) you can do nothing”. I heard that and I know that’s right! Without Him- I’m going down. I am no match for all that is against me. Life outside of the Vine does not exist. ~ Everyone who lays hold of The Son lays hold also of The Life, and everyone who does not lay hold of The Son of God does not have The Life in him. ~ (1 John 5.12) Hear my private and now public confession: I need a Savior. A Deliverer. A Redeemer. Someone to repair the breech, to repair the rip, to restore the relationship I once knew with my Creator. That Someone has been provided and I know His name. And may I join in the song of the saved ones: ~ Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered ~ (Psalm 32.1) I know this man. This man is me, and I am not who I was.
To love and to be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.
Reminds me of the verse about a dog returning to it’s vomit. When we aren’t seeing clearly, we are just lapping up that chunky, stinky, sloppy vomit.
I remember when I first stopped drinking. About six months later, as I was srolling down the grocery isle I noticed that my formerly favorite drink had appeared in several “new” flavors (aka, new clothes) As I caught myself wondering what they might taste like, I realised ( not a coincidence) that it was the same ol’ bunch of boys just dressed up a little different. Apparently temptation has a very diverse wardrobe, the only set of clothes I’ve never seen him in is pure white linen!
A quote from Abraham Heschel from his book “A Philosophy of Judaism” page 374. Does not goodness tend to turn impotent in the face of temptations? Crime, vice, sin offer us rewards; while virtue demans self-restraint, self-denial. Sin is thrilling and full of excitement. Is virtue thrilling? Read Dueteronomy 30:15-19 for God’s instructions.
If you want the rest of Heschel’s teaching, you need to buy the book.
Is virtue thrilling?
Yes!!
And buy it you should. Heschel is brilliant, insightful and sensitive to God. I only wish I had known him and his work years ago.
GOD’S TIMING IS PERFECT… ♥
Hi Skip, Have you any teachings on the Book of Romans or any suggestions? Love your works
I taught a year long seminar on Romans some time ago. I still have the study questions, but none of the lectures were recorded.
I would love to have the Romans study questions and will be willing to pay whatever( do you have any other recorded teachings that’s not on website? Thks
I have some but not all of the lectures from a 2 year study of Genesis and a 2 year study of Exodus. They have to be re-recorded and fixed. That is a June project. There might be a few more around but nothing that can be put up on the web site. Give me some time. I am non-stop on the road these days until end of May.
“Heschel is brilliant, insightful and sensitive to God”
The link below has some great statements by the Rabbi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=xndZB82qygQ&feature=endscreen
Listening to him now, I notice that what he says about religion is very similar to Gandhi
In fact, Gandhi could be one of his models based on what A.H. says about the purpose of Man
To paraphrase, A.H. says it seems to be the will of God to have multiple religions
And a man should be judged by the number of problems he creates
And a man without problems is an idiot 🙂
For me A.H. represents the best of the spirit of the 6o’s
I am not sure about the “multiple religions” comment as I suspect that Heschel would consider “religion” quite a bit different than “faith.” And I know that Gandhi never could admit that his real ethical stance was a direct result of his exposure to Christianity. That is quite obvious when you look at the resulting situation in India today, a culture far removed from Christian underpinnings. Heschel knows the One True God, with the emphasis on “One.” His understanding of Scripture is far superior to most Christian theologians who embrace a philosophy rather than a faith. “To believe is to remember,” but that is, of course, quite impossible for a religion that began by attempting to FORGET its own source.
“not sure about the “multiple religions” comment as I suspect that Heschel would consider “religion” quite a bit different than “faith.””
Hi Skip,
Off the top of my head 🙂
I would think A. H. thinks of religion as what I would call a kind of ideology
A set of beliefs and a way of thinking about things and God that infuences how we act
The ideology is somewhat independent of faith; I could be a Catholic with more or less faith
Whether we think of faith as feeling or acting; it is being close to God
The fact that A. H. has a far better understanding of scripture is not that important to A.H
Hebrew scripture is important to AH because it connects him to God
But I hear him saying that Christianity connects others to God
And Hinduism can connect others to God
Scripture is very logical and it is illogical to think God created people with no access to Him
No access because they don’t have the correct religion doesn’t make sense IMO 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48oLsDImC5A&feature=related
@Michael
Question as old as time….What’s it all about Alfie?
What’s it all about, Alfie?
Is it just for the moment we live?
What’s it all about when you sort it out, Alfie?
Are we meant to take more than we give
or are we meant to be kind?
And if only fools are kind, Alfie,
then I guess it’s wise to be cruel.
And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie,
what will you lend on an old golden rule?
As sure as I believe there’s a heaven above, Alfie,
I know there’s something much more,
something even non-believers can believe in.
I believe in love, Alfie.
Without true love we just exist, Alfie.
Until you find the love you’ve missed you’re nothing, Alfie.
When you walk let your heart lead the way
and you’ll find love any day, Alfie, Alfie.
Somehow, Michael, I can’t “see” A.Hershel saying what you hear, do you see?
“When you walk let your heart lead the way”
“Somehow, Michael, I can’t “see” A.Hershel saying what you hear, do you see?”
Hi Robin,
Good questions, but I’m not sure if I have the answers
I didn’t realize until recently that the heart metaphor was a Jewish thing
But I was always attracted to the use of that metaphor in literature
So I guess I would say that I can see it because it is communicated through the heart
The funny thing for me is that I first encountered AH in 1967 when I had never heard of a Rabbi
And was basically a high school dropout with much experience hanging out with the wrong crowd
The protestant mother of my girl friend introduced to me the teachings of AH and asked me what I thought
I can remember thinking this guy looks pretty weird, but at the same time I said:
“seems true to me” or something to that effect
And remember thinking that it is probably of the utmost importance as well 🙂
I never thought about him again until Skip brought him to my attention a few years ago
What I realize now is that AH embodies almost everything I valued throughout my life
Not that I always lived accordingly
….in other words…it’s not good enough to just “be” good…is it?
When the Torah instructs us to choose life, the meaning is not simply that we behave. It means that we be alive — that we live with awareness. We must understand the gravity of life and recognize the significance of our actions. And however we decide to live, it must be a conscious decision. *We* took control and made our decision. We exercised our lives and vitality. We understood what life is all about and did something about it. Passivity — even more or less good passivity — is not life. Taking control of our fates — understanding the stakes of life and doing something about it — is what life really is.
Maimonides on Life
Choose Life
Chapter 5, Law 3
by Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld