Looks can be deceiving. Just because something looks and seems to be just right for us doesn’t make it so. In fact, without wisdom and discernment, we might find ourselves seduced by poison apples – looking good, but bringing death.
Of course, this is true of sin in general. Sin looks appealing; we take the bait and soon pay the price. And naturally we should keep our guard up against such temptations. But the thief of goodness is often more cunning than simply tempting us with the obvious sins.
For instance, he might appeal to desires to make an impact for good and provide us with an opportunity almost too good to let go. And there might be nothing wrong or sinful with pursuing this opportunity on the surface. It just requires one small compromise, which is easy to justify because of the good we would be accomplishing. And soon we fall into a web of deception and blindsided when we’re rendered ineffective. Perhaps like Samson, our hair is cut and our strength is gone because we made a decision that looked good, but we were not following the Spirit’s direction for our life.
Likewise, there might be many relationships that seem good and make us feel good about ourselves, but they become poison once we open our hearts to them. To be sure, relationships require many sacrifices, but our integrity should not be one of these.
Whatever it looks like, wisdom reminds us not to judge a book by its cover. We must faithfully pray and discern where the Spirit is leading us. And this means we must often say no to good things because God is not in it for us. And it’s poisonous to do anything without him.
In the end, keep your eyes on God and don’t be fooled by the attractive allure of every good offer. What looks good on the surface is sometimes the seduction of poison apples.
