Captured By Beauty
Living in a hyper-sexualized culture presents many challenges to Christians, making passages such as Proverbs 6 essential for our spiritual protection. Sexual desire is actually a good thing; it is created by God for procreation and pleasure. But when our God-given desires are fueled by an improper motive, pursued for the wrong purpose, or fulfilled with the wrong person (e.g., a neighbor’s spouse), they become sinful. Proverbs 6:25 offers an important word of caution for us to consider. In this verse Solomon warns, “Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes.” This passage underscores the attractive force of physical beauty and its intoxicating power. The word desire is translated from the Hebrew term chamad, which fundamentally means to desire, covet, take pleasure in, or delight in. Like most terms, chamad can be used in a positive or negative sense. For example, it can be used in reference to delighting in something that God deems holy and thus permitted. Psalm 19:9-10 offers an example of the word’s positive sense: “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold.” Chamad can also refer to coveting something that God deems unholy and thus prohibited. This is the term’s sense in Exodus 20:17: “You shall not covet.” As always, the context in which chamad is used determines the sense of the word. In the context of Proverbs 6:25, chamad is used in the negative sense.
While chamad can certainly be translated as lust, it seems in the context of Proverbs 6 to potentially be an unnecessary intensification of Solomon’s warning. The warning is likely against something even more critical. We are all well-aware of the dangers big sins bring. But sin very often begins more subtly than uninhibited lust. Sexual temptation can easily begin with a passing comment. An imperceptible bat of the eye. What about these small, less obvious temptations? These are passing temptations that we would likely never notice without the Holy Spirit’s conviction. Solomon’s exhortation is to avoid all forms of temptation, even the slightest hint of wrongful desire that is aroused by an iniquitous motive, driven by an unethical purpose, or directed at someone other than one’s spouse. If there is a speck of temptation seeded in our soul, dig it up before it takes root and bears the fruit of destruction. At the first whiff of lustful passion, it must be immediately and categorically rejected and mortified. Immoral behaviors always begin with an internal desire that is wrongfully directed. When left unchecked, this initial spark of craving can quickly intensify, underscoring the importance of squelching these ungodly desires the instant they arise.
In Proverbs 6:24, the woman Solomon warns about is described as an evil, adulterous woman with a smooth tongue that sings a sweet tune that she uses to beguile her prey. It is the woman’s smooth talk, physical beauty, and flattering eyelashes that capture the young man’s attention. She is physically attractive, and her alluring eyes speak louder than words. Her eyes dazzle, appealing to what the young man already craves. They shout at him, urging him to desire her. Solomon warns against being deluded by the promiscuous woman’s appearance or by her captivating eyes. Her siren song rings out, loud and clear, calling the fools to come closer to her house where she lurks, waiting to devour all who dare enter (Proverbs 7, 30:20). Despite her magnificent beauty, Solomon cautions against yielding to the allurement of her appearance. As Proverbs 31:30 warns, “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain.” Beauty and charm are sometimes deceitful because they can disguise a deviant soul and conceal illicit intentions. Beauty is vain because youthfulness always fades, taking physical beauty with it. Solomon warns his son not to give place to even the smallest speck of lustful desire or covetousness. “As an ox goes to the slaughter,” so goes the man who allows the intoxicating beauty of an attractive woman to destroy him (Proverbs 7:22). Our hearts must be guarded against every type of temptation and sin, whether big or small. A flaming sword must be placed at the gate of our hearts, protecting us from every sinful impulse that arises within us and every seductive enticement of the world the devil uses against us.
Love is blindness, or so they say. But in reality, love cannot be blind. We can, however, allow our unrestrained emotions, desires, and attractions to blind us to the truth and the path of righteousness. People are often blinded, not by external beauty alone, but by carefully crafted veneers that are dangerously divorced from reality. Unchecked attraction can quickly cloud our judgment when we allow it to conquer our hearts and sway our imaginations. Sinful desires quickly blind us to reality, paving the way for fantasy to displace wisdom. Emotional and spiritual blindness are actually self-created through a lack of Holy Spirit-empowered restraint. What may seem like an external influence overpowering our internal resolve is actually our failure to control our emotions, desires, passions, and attractions. Don’t blame the beautiful for your sinful cravings; blame your covetous heart that chooses to lust after one’s physical appearance rather than honoring them for their inner beauty. Before redemption, we were incapable of not sinning. Idolizing physical appearance was par for the course. But through the power of God’s saving grace, we can refuse the sins crouching at our door. So often, we interpret what we see and experience based on emotions, expectations, and quantities of self-control. These faulty interpretations frequently produce poor decisions that can swiftly turn sinful. Since we have undergone a radical change through Jesus’s redemptive work on the cross, we can choose to interpret the world through the lens of God’s word rather than whimsical emotions, delicate willpower, and blurry vision.
Solomon’s warning provides practical lessons that apply to our daily lives, relationships, and decisions. First, it teaches us that controlling our emotions helps maintain better judgment, which prevents us from making impulsive decisions. Second, sin begins inside of us. While it is easier to blame external factors, it is our own restless hearts that allow temptations to take root. Third, strong attraction can distort reality, exaggerate people’s positive traits, and conceal red flags that warn of character flaws. Fourth, mortifying the first hint of sinful desire will prevent foolish decisions that can lead to unfathomable sins and horrific consequences. The grass typically looks greener on the other side of the fence, and the longer one stares, the greener it usually grows. Satan will always see to it that we are tempted in one way or another; therefore we must be prepared to take the escape route God promises to provide. Left in their raw form, desires will compel us to do things we never could have imagined.
Saying no to temptation through the power of the Holy Spirit sometimes feels impossible. While the promise that God “will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13) is recorded for us in Scripture, we do not always believe it to be true. When temptation is at its strongest, it feels impossible to resist or escape. Our recalcitrant desires are constantly looking for an excuse to indulge themselves, and they will quickly run roughshod over flimsy boundaries and feeble willpower. If we are not armed with God’s word and Holy Spirit enabled self-control we will fail to stand against temptation and remain on the broad path of unrighteousness. Temptation has a peculiar way of convincing us that the sin beckoning us is deserved, for our benefit, too private to matter, or no big deal. Once Temptation latches its tentacles on our wishy-washy emotions, logic and reason are often escorted out the door, and asked to never return. It becomes all about what we desire. What we deserve. We may cognitively acknowledge the wickedness of our sin, but that does nothing to diminish the fondness we feel for our favorite sin. The moment temptation gains the upper hand in our hearts, we prefer to satisfy our sin rather than extinguish it or walk away from it. The problem is our sin, when nourished, will never be satisfied. Coddling sin merely makes it grow. Our only hope is escape and mortification through the power of Christ.
The most effective way to avoid temptation is to never open the door in the first place. But when we do give sin an unlocked door of opportunity, God promises to provide a way of escape. The farther we travel down the road toward temptation, however, the more difficult it is to withstand temptation. The first escape door may be the size of a barn door, but the second may be more like a garage door. If we continue down the path to sin the next way of escape may look more like a bedroom door. Should we foolishly keep pursuing the temptation, our escape route may be through a cabinet door. At this point, resisting the temptation may feel impossible. But if we are looking for a way of escape, God promises to offer another off-ramp. It may feel like a Barbie dream house door that is hard to pass through, but it is there for the taking. God’s escape may not include the absolute removal of the temptation, but God promises to provide a way of escape when temptation arises.
Despite the tendency to distort our desires, God created us to desire. Some desires are good, honorable, beneficial, healthy, mature, and loving. But others are wicked, disgraceful, destructive, unhealthy, childish, and selfish. Even adults struggle to keep our emotions and desires in check. How often do we express our desires at the wrong time, in the wrong amount, or at the wrong things? Desires become problematic when we twist them to meet our selfish demands, redirect them toward something inappropriate, or pursue them in disproportionate amounts. When desires go astray by stepping out of bounds or teetering out of balance, adverse consequences will inevitably follow. Thankfully, the Bible does not coddle us with empty sentimentality or confuse us with murky instructions. Scripture warns of the wicked desires our hearts harbor, and explains how loving God with all of our heart, mind, and soul drives away our sinful desires.
God did not create us to be passionless, desireless, or emotionless. In fact, He created us to burn with passion, desire, and emotion. The goal of discipleship is not to eradicate all emotions and feelings—otherwise we would be mechanical robots, lacking the ability to feel pain, suffering, joy, and pleasure. We are, however, commanded to stubbornly direct our passions, desires, and emotions to what glorifies God. There is a deficiency in our obedience to Christ when our thoughts and emotions are diminished or redirected to something other than God and what pleases Him. If our Creator is to be desired more than gold, shouldn’t our passion for Him show in our emotions and desires? What does “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart” mean if it doesn’t fan the flame of impassioned desire for Him in our hearts? The goal of sanctification is not to have weaker desires, but stronger ones that are directed toward what is holy, righteous, true, and lovely. Persistently following Jesus requires passions and desires that burn for His righteousness, purity, and glory. As Puritan writer Jonathan Edwards rightly notes, “Take away all love and hatred, all hope and fear, all anger, zeal, and affectionate desire, and the world would be in a great measure motionless and dead; there would be no such thing as activity amongst mankind, or any earnest pursuit whatsoever.”[1] The place where our attention lies will determine what we desire; it will direct our passions and dictate our emotions. This is why choosing to focus on what pleases the Lord is how we consistently long for what is right while resisting what God has forbidden. In Romans 8:5 Paul explains it this way: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” Followers of Jesus must desire what is eternal and right rather than temporary and vain. There is no neutral in our minds, and the direction of our thoughts determines the direction of our lives. Our attention is always aimed at something. The question is, does it please God or displease him? In order to maintain a right focus we must always “gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4). So, be captured by beauty. But make sure that the beauty that has fully gripped your attention belongs to our wondrous Creator.
[1] Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2007), 29.
While chamad can certainly be translated as lust, it seems in the context of Proverbs 6 to potentially be an unnecessary intensification of Solomon’s warning. The warning is likely against something even more critical. We are all well-aware of the dangers big sins bring. But sin very often begins more subtly than uninhibited lust. Sexual temptation can easily begin with a passing comment. An imperceptible bat of the eye. What about these small, less obvious temptations? These are passing temptations that we would likely never notice without the Holy Spirit’s conviction. Solomon’s exhortation is to avoid all forms of temptation, even the slightest hint of wrongful desire that is aroused by an iniquitous motive, driven by an unethical purpose, or directed at someone other than one’s spouse. If there is a speck of temptation seeded in our soul, dig it up before it takes root and bears the fruit of destruction. At the first whiff of lustful passion, it must be immediately and categorically rejected and mortified. Immoral behaviors always begin with an internal desire that is wrongfully directed. When left unchecked, this initial spark of craving can quickly intensify, underscoring the importance of squelching these ungodly desires the instant they arise.
In Proverbs 6:24, the woman Solomon warns about is described as an evil, adulterous woman with a smooth tongue that sings a sweet tune that she uses to beguile her prey. It is the woman’s smooth talk, physical beauty, and flattering eyelashes that capture the young man’s attention. She is physically attractive, and her alluring eyes speak louder than words. Her eyes dazzle, appealing to what the young man already craves. They shout at him, urging him to desire her. Solomon warns against being deluded by the promiscuous woman’s appearance or by her captivating eyes. Her siren song rings out, loud and clear, calling the fools to come closer to her house where she lurks, waiting to devour all who dare enter (Proverbs 7, 30:20). Despite her magnificent beauty, Solomon cautions against yielding to the allurement of her appearance. As Proverbs 31:30 warns, “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain.” Beauty and charm are sometimes deceitful because they can disguise a deviant soul and conceal illicit intentions. Beauty is vain because youthfulness always fades, taking physical beauty with it. Solomon warns his son not to give place to even the smallest speck of lustful desire or covetousness. “As an ox goes to the slaughter,” so goes the man who allows the intoxicating beauty of an attractive woman to destroy him (Proverbs 7:22). Our hearts must be guarded against every type of temptation and sin, whether big or small. A flaming sword must be placed at the gate of our hearts, protecting us from every sinful impulse that arises within us and every seductive enticement of the world the devil uses against us.
Love is blindness, or so they say. But in reality, love cannot be blind. We can, however, allow our unrestrained emotions, desires, and attractions to blind us to the truth and the path of righteousness. People are often blinded, not by external beauty alone, but by carefully crafted veneers that are dangerously divorced from reality. Unchecked attraction can quickly cloud our judgment when we allow it to conquer our hearts and sway our imaginations. Sinful desires quickly blind us to reality, paving the way for fantasy to displace wisdom. Emotional and spiritual blindness are actually self-created through a lack of Holy Spirit-empowered restraint. What may seem like an external influence overpowering our internal resolve is actually our failure to control our emotions, desires, passions, and attractions. Don’t blame the beautiful for your sinful cravings; blame your covetous heart that chooses to lust after one’s physical appearance rather than honoring them for their inner beauty. Before redemption, we were incapable of not sinning. Idolizing physical appearance was par for the course. But through the power of God’s saving grace, we can refuse the sins crouching at our door. So often, we interpret what we see and experience based on emotions, expectations, and quantities of self-control. These faulty interpretations frequently produce poor decisions that can swiftly turn sinful. Since we have undergone a radical change through Jesus’s redemptive work on the cross, we can choose to interpret the world through the lens of God’s word rather than whimsical emotions, delicate willpower, and blurry vision.
Solomon’s warning provides practical lessons that apply to our daily lives, relationships, and decisions. First, it teaches us that controlling our emotions helps maintain better judgment, which prevents us from making impulsive decisions. Second, sin begins inside of us. While it is easier to blame external factors, it is our own restless hearts that allow temptations to take root. Third, strong attraction can distort reality, exaggerate people’s positive traits, and conceal red flags that warn of character flaws. Fourth, mortifying the first hint of sinful desire will prevent foolish decisions that can lead to unfathomable sins and horrific consequences. The grass typically looks greener on the other side of the fence, and the longer one stares, the greener it usually grows. Satan will always see to it that we are tempted in one way or another; therefore we must be prepared to take the escape route God promises to provide. Left in their raw form, desires will compel us to do things we never could have imagined.
Saying no to temptation through the power of the Holy Spirit sometimes feels impossible. While the promise that God “will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13) is recorded for us in Scripture, we do not always believe it to be true. When temptation is at its strongest, it feels impossible to resist or escape. Our recalcitrant desires are constantly looking for an excuse to indulge themselves, and they will quickly run roughshod over flimsy boundaries and feeble willpower. If we are not armed with God’s word and Holy Spirit enabled self-control we will fail to stand against temptation and remain on the broad path of unrighteousness. Temptation has a peculiar way of convincing us that the sin beckoning us is deserved, for our benefit, too private to matter, or no big deal. Once Temptation latches its tentacles on our wishy-washy emotions, logic and reason are often escorted out the door, and asked to never return. It becomes all about what we desire. What we deserve. We may cognitively acknowledge the wickedness of our sin, but that does nothing to diminish the fondness we feel for our favorite sin. The moment temptation gains the upper hand in our hearts, we prefer to satisfy our sin rather than extinguish it or walk away from it. The problem is our sin, when nourished, will never be satisfied. Coddling sin merely makes it grow. Our only hope is escape and mortification through the power of Christ.
The most effective way to avoid temptation is to never open the door in the first place. But when we do give sin an unlocked door of opportunity, God promises to provide a way of escape. The farther we travel down the road toward temptation, however, the more difficult it is to withstand temptation. The first escape door may be the size of a barn door, but the second may be more like a garage door. If we continue down the path to sin the next way of escape may look more like a bedroom door. Should we foolishly keep pursuing the temptation, our escape route may be through a cabinet door. At this point, resisting the temptation may feel impossible. But if we are looking for a way of escape, God promises to offer another off-ramp. It may feel like a Barbie dream house door that is hard to pass through, but it is there for the taking. God’s escape may not include the absolute removal of the temptation, but God promises to provide a way of escape when temptation arises.
Despite the tendency to distort our desires, God created us to desire. Some desires are good, honorable, beneficial, healthy, mature, and loving. But others are wicked, disgraceful, destructive, unhealthy, childish, and selfish. Even adults struggle to keep our emotions and desires in check. How often do we express our desires at the wrong time, in the wrong amount, or at the wrong things? Desires become problematic when we twist them to meet our selfish demands, redirect them toward something inappropriate, or pursue them in disproportionate amounts. When desires go astray by stepping out of bounds or teetering out of balance, adverse consequences will inevitably follow. Thankfully, the Bible does not coddle us with empty sentimentality or confuse us with murky instructions. Scripture warns of the wicked desires our hearts harbor, and explains how loving God with all of our heart, mind, and soul drives away our sinful desires.
God did not create us to be passionless, desireless, or emotionless. In fact, He created us to burn with passion, desire, and emotion. The goal of discipleship is not to eradicate all emotions and feelings—otherwise we would be mechanical robots, lacking the ability to feel pain, suffering, joy, and pleasure. We are, however, commanded to stubbornly direct our passions, desires, and emotions to what glorifies God. There is a deficiency in our obedience to Christ when our thoughts and emotions are diminished or redirected to something other than God and what pleases Him. If our Creator is to be desired more than gold, shouldn’t our passion for Him show in our emotions and desires? What does “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart” mean if it doesn’t fan the flame of impassioned desire for Him in our hearts? The goal of sanctification is not to have weaker desires, but stronger ones that are directed toward what is holy, righteous, true, and lovely. Persistently following Jesus requires passions and desires that burn for His righteousness, purity, and glory. As Puritan writer Jonathan Edwards rightly notes, “Take away all love and hatred, all hope and fear, all anger, zeal, and affectionate desire, and the world would be in a great measure motionless and dead; there would be no such thing as activity amongst mankind, or any earnest pursuit whatsoever.”[1] The place where our attention lies will determine what we desire; it will direct our passions and dictate our emotions. This is why choosing to focus on what pleases the Lord is how we consistently long for what is right while resisting what God has forbidden. In Romans 8:5 Paul explains it this way: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” Followers of Jesus must desire what is eternal and right rather than temporary and vain. There is no neutral in our minds, and the direction of our thoughts determines the direction of our lives. Our attention is always aimed at something. The question is, does it please God or displease him? In order to maintain a right focus we must always “gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4). So, be captured by beauty. But make sure that the beauty that has fully gripped your attention belongs to our wondrous Creator.
[1] Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2007), 29.
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