“My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not” (Proverbs 1: 10 KJV).
It is a clear, undisputable fact that many began their life of sin and started down the wrong path because they began with bad companions who lived in sin and were constantly under peer pressure to become involved in all their wickedness.
James tells us, “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1: 14-15).
A covetous spirit will yield to the enticement to sin, but a contented spirit will resist. “The love of money,” which is covetousness, “is the root of all evil” or the source of our corruption (1 Tim. 6: 10).
If we learn to be content and have a contented spirit and are not covetous, we will escape a lot of sinful temptations. But as long as we want more than we need, we are prone to yield to the temptation to sin.
The companions of the young man in our text promised him “precious substance” and a house full of spoil if he would side with them and go with them to commit murder and robbery in order to obtain those things (vs. 11-13).
Of course, the idea was to get away with their crime, so they did not mention any judgment, prison time, or even a hanging.
Sin is always advertised as having a pleasant outcome with no damnable consequences. If the terrible consequences of sin were attached to the advertisement to sin, there would be a lot less sinning.
Solomon tells his son not to consent to their enticement because it may look good upfront, but the downside is, “They lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain (covetous); which taketh away the life of (murder) the owners thereof” (vs. 18-19).
Sin is a choice. The temptation to sin is everywhere, as “every man is tempted.” It is when we choose to give our consent and yield to the temptation that we sin. But we can also choose to “just say no” to the temptation and achieve victory. C. H. Spurgeon said, “Learn to say no. It will be of more use to you than being able to read Latin.”
