When you read about the young man in Proverbs 7 you may find yourself shaking your head involuntarily. Just as the narrative begins, you know exactly how it’s going to end. “I have looked out through my lattice, and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense, passing along the street near her corner taking the road to her house in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness” (Prov. 7:6-9). He’s a simpleton and she’s crafty. This only ends one way and it’s not good.
No one wants to be thought gullible but, unfortunately, it applies to many Christians. Several times the book of Proverbs tells the reader to pull his head out of the sand. One example is Proverbs 27:12 which reads, “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.” Another is Proverbs 14:15-16, “The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thoughts to his steps. One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.”
There are many obstacles in life that are completely out of your control, but there are some that are visible from a mile away. The prudent Christian is on the lookout but the simple don’t pay a lick of attention. Sadly, a lack of godly awareness can produce painful consequences.
How can you reduce the likelihood of being spiritually bamboozled? First, realize that the
Adversary seeks to victimize any Christian that lets her guard down. The words that precede the warning that the devil “prowls around like a roaring lion” are “Be sober-minded; be watchful.” Your first order of business is to be suspicious. The world makes promises it cannot possibly keep. When you first wake up, add to your prayer routine a request for God’s protection. In His brief example of how to pray, Jesus included the petition “Deliver us from the Evil One.” If this is an important part of Jesus’ prayer life, then it needs to be integral to yours.
Second, familiarize yourself with the truth. When God tells you to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” He does not expect you to be familiar with all the world’s tactics. He is warning you against being naïve (point #1) as you diligently study the truth of His Word (point #2). This is why the Bible says to be “infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature” (1 Cor. 14:20). It’s like identifying counterfeit currency. It’s not possible to know every form of fraud, but through extreme familiarity with the real thing, you can spot a phony even when you can’t point to why. This principle is at work in the following passage.
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. (Rom. 16:17–19)
You are to watch out for crafty counterfeits that cause division (point #1), not by knowing their methods but by being “wise as to what is good” (point #2). Therefore, in that morning prayer that includes protection from the Evil One, add the request for wisdom to know what is good. “With God are wisdom and might; He has counsel and understanding” (Job 12:13), and His wisdom is in His Word.
There is truth in the saying “there’s a sucker born every minute,” but you don’t have to be one of them. Focus on the three if’s that lead to one very important then in the following verses.
My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. (Prov. 2:1–5)