TODAY IN THE WORD

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Romans 7:7-13.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Later this month Olympic archers from around the world will toe the line in Atlanta, taking aim at some very small targets.

The archers will shoot from a distance of 70 meters at a bull's-eye only 4.8 inches in diameter. Imagine standing on the 20-yard line of a football field and trying to hit a grapefruit hanging at the opposite goal line! No wonder one Olympic archer says his sport is “easy to learn, but impossible to master.”

One of the Bible's primary descriptions of sin pictures an archer who “misses the mark.” This is the word the apostle Paul uses in today's text to describe what happens when we miss God's mark of perfection.

Most people would like to ignore sin. But until a problem is identified and diagnosed, there's no real hope for a cure. So this month we will examine the issue of sin under an interesting heading: the “Seven Deadly Sins” of pride, greed, lust, gluttony, envy, anger and sloth.

While this list is centuries old, don’t search your Bible for it. You won’t find these sins grouped together in one place, although God’s Word has much to say about each of these “deadly sins.” Calling them “deadly” can be misleading. The Bible doesn’t draw a line between sins that kill and those that just hurt. In Romans 7 Paul tells us that the sin of coveting made him realize how badly he was missing the mark of God’s righteous law (vv. 7-8).

Paul’s problem is our problem because “there is no one righteous” (Rom. 3:10). We are all born in sin, and we all “miss the mark” when it comes to keeping God’s law. The other problem is that the law cannot give us the power we need to keep it and thus please God. The law only reveals our sin in all of its ugliness.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Verses such as Romans 6:23a and 7:7-8 give us the bad news on sin. But let’s walk the other way on the “Romans road.”

The good news of the gospel is that even when we were sinners without help or hope, Christ died in our place on the cross (Rom. 5:. Because of this, God now offers us the gift of eternal life (6:23b). All we must do to receive it is admit our sin, put our faith in Christ to save us (10:9-10), and call on Him in confession, repentance and faith (10:13).

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Proverbs 6:16-19; Galatians 5:19-21.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
You almost miss the tugboat. Sitting in the water alongside a huge, burning battleship, the little boat is almost obscured. The photo was taken at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The battleship Nevada, crippled by Japanese dive-bombers, was struggling to avoid blocking the harbor’s major channel to the open sea. The tugboat Hoga raced in, pushing the Nevada clear of the channel and beaching the helpless giant. Then the tug’s crew heroically fought blazes on the battleship for hours. According to one historian, the 100-foot-long Hoga was “the little ship that could—and did” on Pearl Harbor Day.

We remember the Hoga and her crew for bravery, but we can also learn a lesson about sin from this story. Sin may be virtually unseen, like the little tugboat overshadowed by the blazing ship; but it just keeps pushing and pushing until it “beaches” us and leaves us helpless. All sin is equally serious in God’s eyes. Yet the Bible does contain several lists of sins that are said to displease God or prevent us from inheriting His kingdom.

Proverbs 6 gives a list of seven sins. But a comparison of this Scripture passage with the “Seven Deadly Sins” we listed yesterday shows little correlation. While both lists are certainly biblical, they are also quite different.

While Solomon is credited with composing the book of Proverbs, no one knows who first compiled the ancient list of the Seven Deadly Sins. It can be traced to at least the fourth century A.D. In the medieval church the list was a popular sermon topic, and the sins were often represented by gargoyles that decorated the stone cathedrals of that period.

Beginning with the sin of pride, the Seven Deadly Sins were also known as “capital” sins—the principal sins from which other evils arise. That idea finds support in Scripture. For instance, the sin of envy can lead to acts of violence.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We can be grateful that Galatians 5 does not end with “the acts of the sinful nature” in verses 19-21.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Isaiah 14:12-15.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
The once-famous flying feet have been reduced to a painful shuffle, struggling to obey a mind that has absorbed too many blows in too many boxing matches.

Muhammad Ali, “The Champ,” was once the most famous athlete in the world. Today the man who often boasted, “I am the greatest,” suffers from Parkinson’s disease. The fighter who bragged of what he would do to each opponent looked back at his life and said, “I had the world, and it wasn’t nuthin’.”

With that self-assessment, Muhammad Ali joined a long line of kings and queens and champions and captains of industry whose prideful boasts have been short-lived. We remember Ali’s arrogant speeches of the 1960s, but self-asserting pride was not born in the locker room of a boxing tournament. It originated in heaven, with Lucifer.

Today’s verses are the end of an oracle against Babylon that begins in Isaiah chapter 13. Although the rulers of Babylon were as prideful and arrogant as any on earth, the writer points to another prideful being. Beginning in verse 12, he writes of the “morning star,” a term translated as “Lucifer” in the Latin version of the Bible.

This “morning star” is Satan, the once-beautiful angel who wanted to exalt himself above God. His five “I will” boasts outline his plot to claim the power and glory of God for himself. But God did not tolerate Satan’s arrogance: “Your heart became proud…So I threw you to the earth” (Ezek. 28:17). Satan’s prideful rebellion changed the course of human history in the Garden of Eden.

There the former “morning star,” now eating the dust of the earth as a serpent, tempted Eve with the same sin. He tempted her with the same prideful desire for God’s power that had led to his own downfall (Gen. 3:5). This interaction between Satan and Eve centered around pride. It planted in human hearts that fierce rebellion of spirit that says, “I will be my own god.”
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
If pride is that insidious and persistent, and it is, then we need to learn to deal with it on a daily basis.

James 4:13-17 is a great place to start. James’ concern is with “today or tomorrow” (v. 13), so this is no one-shot deal. Since the primary manifestation of pride is the “I will” syndrome, we need to change wills! Verse 15 seems like a small shift in emphasis, but bowing to God’s sovereignty in our lives is a daily antidote to arrogance.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Daniel 4:28-37.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was hardly the first intellectual to declare his atheism. But Nietzsche’s contempt for God was more blatant than that of many other nineteenth-century atheists. Nietzsche ridiculed Christian virtues such as humility, proposing that they be replaced by aggressive pride. His ideal of humanity was a “superman” who would ruthlessly exploit others, unburdened by notions of sympathy or brotherly love. Nietzsche himself boasted, “I am not man; I am dynamite…my truth is fearful.”

Friedrich Nietzsche, meet King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. This ancient monarch, recognized as one of the greatest rulers of antiquity, could have taught modern boasters like Nietzsche a life-changing lesson in theology.

For instance, despite his boasts Nietzsche proved to be quite human, suffering a complete physical and mental breakdown in 1889. Nebuchadnezzar suffered a similar fate described in Daniel 4, but there the similarities end.

We know from today’s text that Nebuchadnezzar was in dire need of a lesson about pride and humility. His boasts about his “great Babylon” give us clues to his pride problem. He built the great city and his kingdom to the glory and majesty of himself (v. 30).

This was not just patriotism gone overboard. The king was setting himself in opposition to God. And because Nebuchad-nezzar had conquered Jerusalem and brought back the gold vessels from the temple and Jewish captives such as Daniel, there was more at stake than just the pride of one monarch. Israel’s God’s was being dishonored.

Nebuchadnezzar’s sin was even more blameworthy because it was committed in defiance of a vision from God. The king also ignored Daniel’s warning that his arrogance and cruelty would bring judgment (4:24-27).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Independence Day is a good day to ask ourselves how patriotism fits into the picture for committed Christians.

Today’s lesson gives us an important clue. If our celebration of America’s birthday leads to praise and thanksgiving to God for His blessings and to humility before Him as our sovereign King, then we can offer God our Fourth of July as a sacrifice of worship.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: John 13:1-5, 12-15.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
John Henry Jowett was a giant among preachers, with a ministry that spanned two continents. Born in Yorkshire, England, in 1864, Jowett pastored several large and influential churches, enjoying a reputation as an outstanding pulpiteer. In 1911 he came to America to accept the pastorate of a church in New York City. Other pastors flocked to his Sunday afternoon services to hear him speak.

But the great preacher did not let his influence blind him to the needs of people. Jowett’s ministry was marked by a multi-faceted outreach to the poor and needy as he sought to be a real-life servant to those in his charge.

Nothing shrivels pride faster than stooping to serve someone else. Our Lord’s foot-washing ministry to the disciples on the night of His betrayal remains a matchless illustration of humility and service. It was another step in the humility Jesus exhibited when He left the glories of heaven and took on human flesh to die on the cross (Phil. 2:5-11).

Jesus’ act of service provides a clear lesson for every follower of Christ. The fact that the disciples were reclining at the table with unwashed feet shows that none of these men had been willing to perform this simple act of hospitality for his brothers—or even for Jesus.

Luke reveals why. The disciples were having a spirited dispute about which one of them was the greatest (Luke 22:24). In that atmosphere, getting up and offering to wash everyone’s feet would be tantamount to admitting that you’d lost the argument. After all, a man has his pride!

So like a crowd of stubborn schoolboys, the disciples waited for the next guy to make the first move. At that point they were hardly candidates for the kind of selfless service required of Jesus’ followers. So Jesus gave them a lesson in humility they would never forget.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Jesus left us without any doubt about our task as believers. Anyone in need is a candidate for our service.

The parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 is another great illustration of this truth. We love to read about the Samaritan who stopped to help the battered victim.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: James 4:6-10; 1 Peter 5:5-9.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
In his book, Reclaiming Surrendered Ground, biblical counselor Jim Logan points out that the second half of James 4:6 forms an interesting contrast to Romans 8:31, which says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Logan writes, “If God is resisting you, does it make any difference who is for you? When I see that word resist (“oppose,” NIV), I picture a big arm coming out of heaven, keeping me away from fellowship…When Satan succumbed to pride, God shoved him out of heaven. When I allow pride in my life, God shoves me away, as it were…But God gives grace to the humble person.”

As Logan reminds us, God actually promises “more grace” (James 4:6a) to those who are willing to lay aside their pride and humble themselves before Him.

Why is pride so revolting to God? What causes Him to shove away His children when we are prideful? We have seen part of the answer in our previous studies. Pride is an attack on the authority of God, an attempt to unseat Him from His rightful place on the throne of our lives.

In his pride Satan tried to storm heaven’s throne room and unseat God as the ruler of the universe. The devil’s attempted coup was a direct attack that failed miserably, so now he tempts us to express our pride in much more subtle ways.

It’s interesting that the devil shows up in both of today’s texts, which urge us to a life of humility (James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:9). If we don’t resist the devil, he will soon have us walking in pride. That’s a dead-end route because it brings us up against the hand of God, who always opposes the proud.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Humility isn’t a quality we come by easily. It requires a daily decision of faith.

Jesus described that decision in Luke 9:23. We must deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him. At its simplest, that cross is God’s will and purpose for our lives, which often runs counter to what our pride tells us we should do. It’s hard to hold our head high and walk in pride when we’re carrying a cross.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Habakkuk 2:4-5.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
“Greed is good.” With those words, celebrated Wall Street whiz Ivan Boesky revealed his basic business philosophy to his class of undergraduate students.

Even to the “Me generation” of the 1980s, Boesky’s unapologetic endorsement of old-fashioned greed came as a shock. But the multi-millionaire got a little too greedy and wound up serving time in prison for using insider trading information to his advantage.

Greed ought to shock us. Its place on the list of the so-called Seven Deadly Sins reminds us that for many centuries greed has been considered one of the sins that have the greatest appeal to the human appetite. Given greed’s place of shame in the Bible, it’s hard to argue with that view.

Today’s text is not really a definition of greed, but gives us a fascinating and sobering look at the nature of greed. Habakkuk was given a hard prophetic message to deliver. God was going to judge sinful Judah by giving His people over to infinitely more wicked conquerors: the cruel Babylonians.

In the process of delivering his message, Habakkuk drew a word picture of the coming invaders. The Babylonians were “puffed up” and “arrogant.” We know what pride does to individuals or to a nation.

But Habakkuk also noted that the Babylonians were “as greedy as the grave.” They were like death, which is “never satisfied.” This is about the best illustration of greed you’ll find. Death won’t stop taking until everyone is in its grasp. We are told in Proverbs 30:15-16 that the grave is one of four things that never says “Enough!”
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
When do you say “Enough”? Most people don’t say it at all. Greed is easy to spot in others but tough to pinpoint in ourselves. Here’s a brief self-test that may help focus the issue. Jot down the three things you want most right now; then ask these questions about each item: 1. Is this a legitimate need or desire?2. Is this something I want just because I want it?3. Is the lack of this item standing between me and true contentment?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Luke 12:13-21.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
No one ever said greed wouldn’t sell. It’s selling quite well in America today, so well that we are now dealing with a new social scourge: the teenage gambling addict.

Some experts believe that “problem gambling” is the fastest-growing teenage addiction. They estimate that within a decade it will rival drug use as our youth’s number one problem. How bad is it? According to one report, some 30ꯠ underage gamblers are either barred or ejected from casinos in Atlantic City every month.

The reality of our modern addictions confirms the wisdom of Jesus’ warning about all kinds of greed. Most of us are shocked by reports of teenagers sneaking into casinos or running up thousands of dollars in gambling debts. But none of this catches the Savior by surprise. His parable of the rich but foolish farmer shows the power of greed in every generation and every culture.

This story is so familiar that it is easy to get sidetracked by the farmer’s wealth. It is easy to draw the false conclusion that wealth equals greed. But the farmer’s problem was not his money. It was his greedy desire to pile up so much stuff that he could afford to trust in his wealth and forget God.

Jesus’ application of the parable in verse 21 drives home this point. The issue is not whether we can be rich and also trust in God. The issue is whether we are spending so much time and effort storing up things for ourselves that we do not have time to acquire the true riches, which are spiritual (see Luke 16:11-13).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
When do you say “Enough”? Most people don’t say it at all. Greed is easy to spot in others but tough to pinpoint in ourselves. Here’s a brief self-test that may help focus the issue. Jot down the If the experts are right, we are looking down the end of a long, dark tunnel when it comes to gambling in America.

The gambling industry depends upon greed. Gambling’s continued success depends on its ability to find and develop new victims of its false hopes and dreams. It awakens and cultivates the sin of greed in people from all walks of life.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Job 31:24-28; Matthew 6:19-21.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
In a recent magazine editorial, author Timothy C. Morgan comments on a new book about gambling by saying the book “spells out how the pervasive worship of Lady Luck... alters our perspective on life.” Morgan concludes: “There is a theological dimension [to gambling]—God is not mocked: what we sow, we reap. Unless we address the spiritual issues underlying gambling, America’s next generation may perish, having no vision, but only a daydream.”

Morgan’s choice of the word “worship” to describe America’s obsession with gambling was not accidental. From a biblical perspective, there is a direct connection between greed and idolatry. This connection is stated explicitly in today’s verse.

Idolatry is the worship of false gods. Worship is an expression of awe, trust, dependence and confidence, directed toward the object of our faith. Whether we are obsessed with gambling or with pursuing a higher-income job or with excessive shopping, we are demonstrating this connection.

Jesus cautions us not to trust in riches. “Trust” is a word usually used in terms of worship. Yet here Jesus relates it to greed: we are not to worship our money. It is a matter of idolatry because to trust in riches is to make them the object of worship instead of God.

Job’s protest of his innocence is revealing. Putting his trust in gold or gloating over his wealth would have constituted unfaithfulness to “God on high” (Job 31:28). Such an act would have been as blameworthy as worshiping the sun or moon like the pagans around him (vv. 26-27).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
When do you say “Enough”? Most people don’t say it at all. Greed is easy to spot in others but tough to pinpoint in ourselves. Here’s a brief self-test that may help focus the issue. Jot down the How do we know when we have crossed the line into greed? This is another of those issues of the heart that each of us has to answer before the Lord. Here are two biblical principles.

The first, illustrated in the episode of the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-29), is this: when the choice is between the will of God and money, our decision reflects our true heart attitude. A second principle is illustrated by Job: everything we have, including life itself, belongs to God, and He can take it whenever He chooses. Whether you hold your possessions in an open hand or with a clenched fist also helps to reveal your heart.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Timothy 6:6-12.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Earlier this year, Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, was awarded the 1996 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. Before becoming a Christian in 1951, Bright says he was a materialistic young businessman. After his conversion, he and his wife, Vonette, made a crucial choice that allowed them to concentrate on ministry.

“We made a decision to relinquish all our rights, all our possessions, everything we would ever own,” says Vonette. For the Brights, the antidote to greed and the secret to contentment was a radical decision regarding material things. In many ways their decision is unique to their situation and their calling, but every believer must deal with the trap of wanting to get rich (v. 9).

This is really the crux of the issue when it comes to greed. Verse 10 of today’s text is a much-quoted and often misquoted warning about the allure of greed. It’s the love of money that is the root of all sorts of evil.

It’s not what you have but what you lust for that does the damage. Greedily chasing after money or anything else that takes your heart away from God is like trying to run through a twisted patch of thorns. You’ll never make it through without getting “pierced” repeatedly. In fact, you may not make it through at all.

Look at the contrast Paul describes between those who want to get rich and are eager for money and those who pursue God. The former can’t take their gold with them even if they get it (v. 7).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
When do you say “Enough”? Most people don’t say it at all. Greed is easy to spot in others but tough to pinpoint in ourselves. Here’s a brief self-test that may help focus the issue. Jot down the When the Bible tells us to be content with what we have, God is not asking us to settle for second best. On the contrary, He is asking us to let go of the temporary baubles of earth so as to claim our eternal treasures. The exhortation of Hebrews 13:5 is followed by the staggering promise of God’s never-failing presence.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: James 1:13-15.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
When Olympic champion Sergei Grinkov took the ice for a practice session in Lake Placid, New York, last November, he was at the top of his sport. He and his wife, figure-skating partner Ekaterina Gordeeva, were members of a professional tour and happy parents of a three-year-old daughter.

But a secret killer was lurking in Grinkov’s chest—undiagnosed heart disease that had blocked an artery carrying blood from his heart. The powerful and youthful Grinkov collapsed that day and died of his hidden illness.

Sin has the same kind of tragic ending. When its often unseen but potent work is done, it “gives birth to death,” writes James. That is also true of lust, since the word translated “evil desire” (v. 14) is the same word rendered both as “cravings” and “lust” in 1 John 2:16.

The sin of lust is the third of the Seven Deadly Sins we are studying this month. Those who originated this classic list understood the inordinate power of desire to lead a person into sin the way a bird is lured into a trap.

We usually think of lust in relation to sexual desire, and that is its most common use in the Bible. James captures the alluring power of lust in verse 14, where he describes a person being “dragged away” by his own desires.

But this is not a helpless victim being forced into sin against his will, let alone one being tempted by God. The evil here is self-inflicted, certainly with assistance from the tempter Satan. In Proverbs, for example, we see the simpleton, one who is morally dull, being led into sin by a seductress the way an ox is led to the slaughter (Prov. 7:22).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Are you somewhere in that deadly cycle of lust today? If so, you’ll never reason your way out of it. Trying to back out slowly will not get the job done. Neither will all of your self-promises to keep it under control, to make sure it doesn’t go too far.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 2 Samuel 11:1-5.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Author Jerry Jenkins, in his book Loving Your Marriage Enough to Protect It, warns couples: “The strongest marriage you know of is in danger today if hedges are not in place.”

Jenkins tells how early in his marriage he and his wife set up protective “hedges”--guidelines to guard them from temptations. Jenkins asks: “How close have you come to being burned? Have you found yourself impressed with someone and then attracted to them? Maybe it seemed innocent and safe, but then you said or did things you never thought you would say or do…Maybe looking back, you can see that you were living dangerously. When friends fall to the right and left, you see that perhaps you were lucky you weren’t snared. If so many of your friends and acquaintances have fallen--people you never would have suspected—how will you avoid being a casualty?”

Throughout his book, Jenkins speaks of guarding one’s heart long before temptation strikes. As one Bible teacher observed, when you see a man who commits adultery and destroys his family, you know you are seeing the end of a process that no doubt began earlier in that man’s mind and heart.

In the case of David and Bathsheba, the narrative of lust is told in compact detail. The writer did not dwell on Bathsheba’s beauty, David’s thoughts, or the sin itself--and neither should we. Instead, we need to consider the steps that David took in the downward spiral of lust. Here is a tragic real-life illustration of the truth of James 1:14-15.

Verse 2 says David saw Bathsheba bathing. The verb is a very common one, used hundreds of times in the Old Testament. The only indication that David did more than glance was that he noted the woman’s beauty.

But David took the next step and sent someone to find out who--and perhaps, whose--she was. Instead of fleeing his growing lust when he learned she was the wife of a trusted officer in his army, David decided to consummate his desire. He sent for her and committed adultery with her.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Are you somewhere in that deadly cycle of lust today? Read Psalm 32:1-4 and you’ll see the tremendous physical, emotional and spiritual toll David’s sin exacted.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Proverbs 6:20-28.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
When you’re flying faster than a bullet at an altitude of 100ꯠ feet, there isn’t much you have to fear from an enemy on the ground. That’s what the pilots of the SR-71 Blackbird high-altitude spy plane will tell you. This special aircraft, retired from active service in 1990, was so fast that it could outrun even surface-to-air missiles. Its espionage equipment was sensitive enough to photograph a license plate from fifteen miles away.

That’s how a lot of us wish we could handle lust. We think we can soar through life so high and so fast that even if Satan fires a temptation our way, we will simply outrun it. But the fact is that God has equipped us with something far more powerful and more sensitive than a supersonic airplane in our daily struggle with sin. He has given us His living and active Word.

Both David and Solomon knew the power of God’s Word to keep His children from sin—although both succumbed to the temptations of the flesh. Yesterday we looked at David’s sin with Bathsheba; but we also have the example of Solomon, who acquired a harem in an attempt to satisfy himself with pleasure (Eccl. 2:.

In today’s text we see the crucial role the Word plays in protecting us from sin. The son being addressed is exhorted to heed his “father’s commands” and his “mother’s teaching” (v. 20). Binding God’s precepts on the heart and around the neck was symbolic of making them the guiding principles of life.

This is foundational because only God’s Word can show us where to walk safely. It is a lamp and a light (v. 23) that will keep us off the wrong paths, in this case the path of lust that leads to terrible consequences.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
In Psalm 119, David gives us several keys to making full use of the protection God’s Word affords us.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Luke 6:43-45.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
One of the most encouraging ethical developments in the last few years is a program called “True Love Waits.” Christian young people make a vow before the Lord to abstain from sex before marriage and wait for the partner of His choice. Hundreds of thousands of pre-teens and teenagers have taken the “True Love Waits” pledge, signing a commitment card as a witness to their vow.

Last February at a special rally in Atlanta some 350ꯠ commitment cards were stacked up until they reached the roof of the 25-story Georgia Dome. We can thank God for this witness to a right way of dealing with normal desires that can so quickly burst into the flames of lust. Of course, signing a card does not guarantee sexual purity. But what these young people are saying is that they want their hearts to be right before God on this crucial issue.

The heart is where Jesus focused too. The principle He illustrated and then announced in today’s text applies to lust as readily as it does to any other situation. Lust is conceived and born in the heart, which is used in the Scriptures to speak of the seat of our thoughts, emotions and desires.

Our Lord’s illustration of the fruit tree and the vine (vv. 43-44) shows why keeping our hearts pure is so crucial. A tree will always produce fruit according to its nature. This is the New Testament version of our computer-age saying “Garbage in, garbage out.”

This means that the time to begin controlling lust is not when the flames of illicit desire are burning. We need to start much earlier in the process and keep a close guard on what we put into our hearts by way of what we see, read, think about, and so forth.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Even though the “True Love Waits” movement is geared to teens, all of us can join them by committing ourselves to purity.

Today concludes our four-day study of lust and how to deal with it, but our need to be on guard in this area is ongoing. One step you can take to help protect yourself and your family from needless temptation is to review what you may be allowing into your home through television, magazines, books or other media.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Proverbs 23:19-21.
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TODAY IN THE WORD
The exploits of the late baseball player Babe Ruth, both on and off the diamond, were legendary even in Ruth’s own day. Unfortunately, this was true of his appetite for food and drink. One of Ruth’s binges, which included gorging himself on twelve hot dogs and eight bottles of soda pop at a brief train stop, put his health in danger for awhile and infuriated his manager. Because the slugger was so famous, one writer dubbed the incident “the stomach ache heard ’round the world.”

Today’s text is as close to a definition of gluttony as any you will find in Scripture. A glutton gorges himself (v. 20) with little or no restraint until he suffers both physical and spiritual consequences. It’s not hard to see why this sin found its way onto the list of the Seven Deadly Sins. Gluttony is always condemned in Scripture as a particularly damaging form of indulgence.

We normally think of gluttony in connection with overeating, but the Bible includes excessive drinking as well. Christians tend to avoid discussing the sin of gluttony because it often hits pretty close to home. Dr. Howard Hendricks once referred to overeating as “the only acceptable evangelical sin.” The remark sounds humorous, but he was making a point. Any traveling Bible teacher or evangelist will tell you that wherever the preacher goes, he’s treated to a meal fit for a king. It’s a hallowed tradition.

And who hasn’t eaten too much at the holidays or at a picnic and then joked about the need to walk off the meal rather than sit back and relax? But gluttony isn’t funny.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Today’s text and verse contain a wise warning for those who want to avoid falling into the trap of gluttony.

The Proverbs are full of warnings about spending time with people who make sin a way of life. One obvious reason is that wrong companionship leads to needless temptation. Peter gives another good reason to avoid bad company. Indulgent people scorn and ridicule those who don’t share in their sins (1 Peter 4:3-4). People involved in sin want others to join right in!