Stay In Your Lane

Author’s Note: Written while incarcerated on 4/20/2023

“For at the window of my house
I looked out through my lattice,
And I saw among the naive,
And discerned among the youths
A young man lacking sense,” —Proverbs 7:6-7

In verses 7-9, the writer sees this young man who lacks sense. At first this man is simply

“passing along the street near her corner.”

It seems that he is just flirting with the idea of her. Letting his imagination run free.

But then we see him taking the road to her house in the twilight. His imagination has grown into intent. He is intentionally moving in her direction during the nighttime where they can hide in secrecy.

In verses 10-12, we find that - wonder of wonders - there she is!

Dressed seductively.

And clever.

She uses coarse speech. Bold speech. She makes it clear that she is “open for business.” She has been pursuing him! In the street. At the store. Waiting at the corner. Waiting for him to notice her. Waiting for him to linger near her.

She's just working the bait, waiting for him to bite.

Then in verses 13-21, she jerks the rod and sets the hook.

She holds him.
She kisses him.
She convinces him that all of this is normal.
Nothing out of the ordinary.

She seductively tells him how comfortable he'll be. How pleasant his time with her will be.

She invites him to be intimate with her. She tells him that she wants it as badly as he does. And she convinces him that all is safe.

He won't get caught.

Finally in verses 20-23, “all at once” he follows her.

He is hooked.
No escape.

He is now completely under her control. He doesn't realize that she is leading him to destruction.

He follows blindly.
But his destruction is certain.
There is no other option.

He has started down a steep, slippery slope. At the bottom is death. And he is powerless to stop, or even to change course.

We find in verses 24-27, that his only hope would have been to stay away from her corner in the first place.

He has to remain aware of his surroundings.

He must not allow himself to be in a position where he could mindlessly wander near her corner. Because her wake is littered with the corpses of her victims.

This!

This has been the trap that I have been lured into for over 50 years!

This is the first time I have ever noticed this passage in proverbs. But it is spot on. This is exactly how it happened. Time and again.

Temptation rarely begins with a decision.
It begins with a direction.

I rarely got up in the morning with the intention of “acting out.” No! I would find myself foolishly wandering too close to her corner. Then I would be lured in.

God reminded me of the Israelites in the wilderness. And later in the promised land. How they stayed in a similar pattern; they would break God's commandments, God would send discipline, they then cry for deliverance, God rescues them, they celebrate their deliverance and vow to follow him faithfully, only to repeat their folly, and start the process again.

Exactly my life!

I have to find the exit ramp!

The road I've been on always leads me back to the same place. Death.

I've got to get off this road and stay off this road.

I’m reminded of a story:

A man walking down the road, didn’t see the hole and fell in.
The man walking down the same road, saw the hole, but still fell in.
The man walking down the same road, saw the hole, and went around it.
The man walked down a different road.

I believe I found the right exit. It's in pursuing the Kingdom of God with everything I have. But I need help to do it. Lots of help. And I have to take full advantage of the time I have in here to get myself as full of the word of God as possible. I need to establish this habit. And keep the habit for the rest of my life. I have to stay busy with the work of the Kingdom after I’m out.

God himself is my only hope for victory.