A father and his son were riding in a trolley car and the father decided
to have fun with his boy. He lifted his cap off his head and pretended to
throw it out of the window. The boy started to cry, but the father solved
the problem by snapping his fingers and producing the cap before the boy.
The boy's tears disappeared and he grinned with delight at his father's
amazing ability to bring back his cap with the snap of a finger. He said,
"That's fun, lets do it again." And before his father could intervene he
threw his cap out the window.
This was only innocent fun, of course, but it illustrates how one who is
admired can influence the conduct of the immature. They can be made to do
foolish things by the influence of false impressions received from adults.
Teens are not so immature as that little boy, and they are not likely to be
impressed with such sham magic as bringing things back by finger
snapping, but the fact is, they are still at a very impressionable age. They
can be deeply impressed by charming appeals to follow a path that leads to
the loss of far more than a cap, but to the loss of their good name, and
possibly even the crown of righteousness. Solomon was well aware of the
dangers that a young person faces in terms of being misguided by alluring
appeals to sin, and he makes this his first matter of instruction to his son
after he told of how obedience to instruction would lead to attractiveness
of character.
Verse 10 begins with a negative on what not to do. It is important to
recognize that youth need some basic don'ts to follow to help them avoid
many of the problems and sins that youth fall into. Solomon says that if
sinners entice you, do not give into them. He prepares his son for what is
almost inevitable. The word for sinners means those who are habitual
delinquents. They are those who delight in and willfully follow the path of
crime and sin. It is important to note that the warning is not against the
enticement of sin, but of the sinner.
Young people need to recognize that the personal element is the source
of the power of deception. If you ever hope to escape the snare of Satan
you must be aware of this fact. The personal element is the power behind
both sin and salvation. It is not only the Gospel that wins people to Christ,
but the person who presents and embodies the Gospel. Likewise, it is not
just sin in itself that attracts and entices, but the sinner who embodies the
life of sin. It is the attractive and glamorous appeal of the movie stars, and
not just their sins that entices young people to follow their footsteps to
folly. Many a sinful person has a very appealing and persuasive
personality that enables them to become heroes to many young people.
Many atheistic professors are charming, witty and intelligent, and they
influence many students to follow the path of unbelief. Atheism would
never attract them, but the atheist can and does.
In the realm of crime that Solomon is concerned about at this point, it
is almost the enticement of persons that causes an otherwise good young
person to become a part of a crime. The smooth talking young thief who
has gotten by with it may urge you to join him for some easy money, and
that can be a real danger. It is not robbery but the robber who can entice
you. You might think that all of this is quite irrelevant to your life, and for
some of you it may very well be, but for thousands of youth, even from
Christian homes, it is relevant. Remember that Solomon is speaking to a
young person brought up in a godly home. If it was not possible for a
godly young person to be deceived by devilish delinquents, there would be
no need for this warning in the first place.
Every Christian young person must honestly recognize that the evils
of their generation can ensnare them. Do not try and fool yourself, and
approach life with a blind and naive attitude about your weak and sinful
nature. All that happens to the non-Christian can ensnare you as well.
Studies show that 85% of the young people who get into trouble with the
police had a church background, and they were from homes where parents
were church members. The enticement to crime and sin is universal, and
reaches all young people to some degree. There is so much money involved
in enticing youth that it has become a major industry. Christian youth are
targets for this constant bombardment of enticement to evil.
What is Solomon's instruction as to what to do in this situation? The
cultures are vastly different, and even the crimes may be different, but the
answer is just as simple as ever-say no, and do not consent. To be enticed
is not sin, for sin is an act of the will. It is saying yes to the enticement, or
the enticer. Here is the simple way of avoiding any danger of ever
becoming a juvenile delinquent. In my early teens I ran around with two
boys who wanted to break into a warehouse of a candy company and steal
some candy. I knew it was wrong, and event though I was a superficial
Christian, I refused to take part. Both of these boys became juvenile
delinquents, and eventually ended up in prison. I escaped it only because I
had had enough instruction in Sunday school to be sensitive to the evil of
stealing, and I was able to say no. It is that simple. Just say no and refuse
to do evil, and Satan himself will be unable to plot your record.
We need to be honest, however, and recognize that it is not easy to say
no. The will must be conditioned to be able to resist enticement, and this is
why obedience from the earliest age is so important. Enticement to do
wrong is often so strong emotionally that the will if not well disciplined
will not be able to resist. This is the very reason why discipline plays so
large a place in the preparation of a soldier. In the midst of battle the
emotional strain is so strong that if the will has not been conditioned to
obey orders under all conditions a man could go all to pieces. He could act
foolishly in some wild attempt to save himself, and as a result place himself
and others at the mercy of the enemy. Christian youth face a battle also,
and to be a good soldier of Christ they must be disciplined to say yes to
Him as their commander, and no to the traitor within that would give you
over to the enemy.
Your will must be trained to be stronger than your want. Reason must
be superior to emotion. For example, you can want a piece of cake before
supper, but you can will to wait until after supper. The will must always
keep the wants under control and allow them only to be satisfied according
to what is wise. A young person who lets his wants control his conduct is
almost certainly headed for trouble, for his very nature wants much that is
harmful to his life. The question of why do you do this or that, or why do
you have to go here or there is often answered by saying, "Because I want
to." Young people must beware of thinking that everything that is a want
should be pursued. Solomon's son may feel he wants to join the boys and
have some entertainment, and get in on some of the fun and easy money,
but Solomon is saying he is not to go by his wants, but to go by his will,
which is to obey his godly instruction.
I remember a professor once saying that he does something everyday
he would rather not do just to discipline his will to be superior to his
wants. This makes sense, and especially for youth, for they must learn to
obey what is wise and best even when the strong enticements to evil
confront them. A person who always does what he wants is spoiled
spiritually, and he will refuse to counter his wants and say no even when
the want is evil and foolish. The value of obeying parents even when the
happen to be wrong is the discipline of the will which will make you a
better person. A blunt refusal is the only answer to enticement, and those
who cannot say no to wants are going to have a very difficult time. Those
who can remember these basic ideas, however, will certainly victorious.
They are, beware of the personal appeal to sin and crime, and discipline
your will to say no to evil even though your sinful flesh wants to say yes.
Now we will consider briefly the actual appeal of the sinner in verse
11. The first thing I notice is the attitude of shocking independence. This
appeals to the adolescent mind. It says that we are somebody and we are
tough. We can do in life as we please, and need not bow to any law. There
is an appeal here to ambush others. There is a sort of bragging about the
innocence of their victims. They are not enemies, but just poor creatures
who are not as fit to survive as we are. These are the words of depraved
rough necks who kick old people to death just for fun. Such wicked
attitudes should make us realize that it is nonsense to imply that youth are
worse today than they have ever been. Brutal crimes by youth have been a
part of human society ever since Cain maliciously murdered his
unsuspecting brother Abel.
The violence pictured here is still relevant, for in many parts of the
world there is very little law enforcement, much like it was in the early
days of our own country. This lying in wait to rob and kill was a regular
part of the West. This may not be as relevant to our particular
environment, but it is relevant to people somewhere in the world at all
times. Robbery and murder is happening everywhere because people are
being enticed by the appeal from evil minds. The only way for youth to
escape the dangers of such minds is to learn early to say no to all
enticements to evil. This is the only way to not become a juvenile
delinquent.
