The Awesome Power of Seduction

Seduction. When you read the word, what comes to mind? According to Hollywood, it’s a beautiful, shapely woman eager to entice those that get a glimpse of her. Or a young, buff male flexing six-pack abs for adoring females. That’s one type of seduction, but there are many others – and most of them have nothing to do with sex.

The Bible talks a lot about seduction. It even devotes an entire chapter of Proverbs to the topic. In my book, Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace, I discuss the practicality, honesty and everyday relevance of the book of Proverbs. And chapter 7 of Proverbs gives an unflinching, down-to-earth look at “seduction.”

How to overcome seduction's magnetic power?

This chapter does utilize the sexual temptation scenario, giving the image of a young man (“a youth who lacked judgment”) walking very determinedly into a specific neighborhood where he encounters a woman “dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.” They meet, probably not by chance, and head off together.

The passage explains what happens next: “With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose…little knowing it will cost him his life” (Proverbs 7:21-23). How would you like to be described that way?

But the principle that underlies this passage concerns more than illicit sex. Because temptations present themselves in many seductive forms, and in our uniqueness, some are stronger magnets for us than others. For example, success can become a seductress when it becomes a mini-god, the focus of our time, attention, energy, even worship – especially when its pursuit harms relationships, or causes us to compromise convictions.

The lust for materials things, a sin our consumer society particularly favors, has seduced countless men and women, even within the body of Christ. It’s what causes us to insist on “more, more, more!” when an honest, objective assessment of our possessions would tell us we have more than enough. Money for its own sake offers powerful enticement, irresistible for some.

Pride, which C.S. Lewis declared lies at the heart of all sins, can be particularly seductive. It can seduce us into becoming puffed up over achievements, thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought. It tempts us to feel offended when someone doesn’t treat us the way we “deserve” to be treated. And it can lure us into feelings of superiority or arrogance toward others. There are many other ways the sin of unrestrained, self-centered pride approaches us in seductive guise.  

In any case, for something to be seductive, it has to be attractive. As someone pointed out to me years ago, “If sin wasn’t fun, we wouldn’t want to do it.”

Let’s concede we’re constant targets for seduction in one or more manifestations. How do we deal with this? The seventh chapter of Proverbs not only describes the power of seduction, but also proposes how to overcome it. And it’s not all that complicated: “Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call understanding your kinsman; they will keep you from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words” (Proverbs 7:4-5).

In seeking wisdom, we’ll be able to recognize temptation and its seductions for what they really are. Rather than yielding – using the cop-out excuses, “Well, nobody’s perfect” or “I’m only human” – the wisdom of God promises, “You do have a choice. You don’t have to give in to it. The seductress can’t ‘make’ you do anything.” She can suggest – but she can’t force.

A Quarter-Century After ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’

Martin Scorcese’s film, “The Last Temptation of Christ,” recently marked its 25^th anniversary. My, how time flies! When it comes to anniversaries, I must admit that’s not one I’d marked on my calendar.

As a journalist, I viewed "The Last Temptation of Christ" when it was released in 1988. My reasoning was simple: It's hard to comment accurately and fairly when you don't know what you're writing about. There was a great furor over the film, based on a 1953 novel by Nikos Kazantzakis. Churches picketed, religious leaders called it “blasphemous.” And, as expected, the Hollywood elite gushed with praise. Scorsese even received an Academy Award nomination for best director.

The film concentrated on the humanity of Jesus, virtually ignoring His divinity. It depicted Him dealing with all manner of temptations, including fear, doubt, depression, and lust.

In one respect, the film was accurate. Hebrews 4:15 declares, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.” Both the author and Scorsese seemed to equate temptation and sin as one and the same. Clearly, as this verse states, they are not.

Temptation, as I’ve explained to men I’ve mentored, is being presented with the opportunity to sin. Sin is considering the temptation and moving into action. For instance, an alcoholic may be tempted if someone offers him a drink. The sin occurs if he drinks it, taking the first step in a downward spiral. We might become angry at someone and feel tempted to strike them. If we decide that seems like a good idea and take a swing, temptation has turned into sin.

So yes, Jesus could have been tempted “in every way, just as we are,” yet without sinning if He resisted the temptations. Which is what the Bible teaches.

My observations of “The Last Temptation” at the time – and still today – were twofold:

1) The film was boring and extremely slow-moving, hardly worthy of any cinematic commendation – except perhaps from the sleep-deprived. It was a box office flop as much for that reason as it was for the protests.

2) If Jesus did in fact deal with a "last temptation," it would not have been to experience some human failing. Rather, it would have been to forgo the cross, decreeing that we're not deserving of His once-and-for-all sacrifice for our sins. Because we’re not.

Instead of paying the price Himself, suffering as excruciating and humiliating a death as anyone possibly could, Jesus as God could have avoided the cross. He could have elected instead for us to suffer the consequences and receive the eternal penalty for our sins that we truly deserve.

Thankfully, the Lord did not yield to such a temptation and today, 2,000 years later, the free gift of salvation remains available to all that will receive it. As Romans 5:8 asserts, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Yes, I do believe there was a “last temptation of Christ.” It just wasn’t what Kazantzakis or Scorsese imagined.