“Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.” (Proverbs 20:17)
Sin will always fool you. It never lives up to its promise. To fall for it is to end up a sucker.
Many a person has learned the hard way that they were duped. What at first appeared scrumptious, “afterwards” leaves us with a mouthful of gravel. The key is to know beforehand that you’re being seduced and to not fall for the bait. As the saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
What a blessed thing it is to escape a trap the enemy has laid for us with our conscience intact! If we want the devil to flee us we must first submit to God and then resist him. Our obedience to God means disobedience to the call of the deceiver to “come and dine.” If we want him to back off we must time and time again serve notice on him that we are not eating his “dainties.” They are “deceitful meat.” (Prov. 23:3)
Disappoint the tempter. Let him feel despised and rejected. When you deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, you will not only be so happy to know that the enemy has failed in his attempt to spoil your soul; but you will have the Lord spread His table before you in a way you never dreamed of before.