The Honey Trap: Why Relapse Looks Sweet But Tastes Like Poison (Proverbs 5)

The Honey Trap: Why Relapse Looks Sweet But Tastes Like Poison (Proverbs 5)

We’ve all been hustled. We bought into something that looked like a dream but turned into a nightmare. Welcome to Day 5 of "A Proverb A Day Keeps The Police Away," where we read Proverbs (The Message Version) to find the street smarts we need to survive.

In today’s breakdown of Proverbs 5:

• The Bait & Switch: How to spot the trap when it "drips with honey."

• Bankruptcy: Why Solomon warns us not to give our "honor to strangers" and our "years to the cruel."

• The Antidote: How to "drink from your own cistern" and stop looking for happiness in the places that broke you.

The Bottom Line: If it tastes like honey but ends like poison, spit it out.

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00:00 Introduction: The Hustle and the Nightmare 00:14 Day Five: Solomon's Warning on Seduction 00:46 The Trap of Seduction: Sweet Lips, Bitter End 02:19 The Cost of Relapse: More Than Just Money 03:55 Avoiding the Trap: Keep Your Assets and Honor 04:06 Finding Satisfaction: Drink from Your Own Well 06:23 Final Takeaways: Play the Tape Through

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
We've all been hustled.
We've all bought into somethingthat looked like a dream, but
then it turned into a nightmare.
Maybe it was a substance you were usingor maybe it was a person you were with.
Maybe it was just the thrill of the chaos.
Welcome to day five of a proverbA day keeps the police away.
Today, in day five, Solomontalks about the seduction.

(00:21):
He warns us about the thing thatdrips with honey and then sounds as
smooth as silk, but he tells us thesecret that the marketing brochure
leaves out the aftertaste is poison.
Let's see if we can spot thetrap here before we step in it.
Let's pick it up right at the beginning.
Solomon warns us here about how good andbad choices look at first, and then he

(00:42):
describes exactly how this trap is set.
So here we go.
Dear friend.
Pay close attention to this, my wisdom.
Listen very closely to the way I see it.
Then you'll acquire ataste for good sense.
What I tell you willkeep you out of trouble.
The lips of a seductivewoman are oh, so sweet.
Her soft words are, oh, so smooth,but it won't be long before

(01:07):
she's gravel in your mouth.
A pain in your gut, a wound in your heart.
She's dancing down theperfumed path to death.
She's headed straight forhell and taking you with her.
She hasn't a clue about real life.
About who she is or where she's going.
That is the definitionof a bait and switch.

(01:30):
Solomon says her lips drip honey,and her speech is smoother than oil.
In early recovery, the oldlife starts flirting with us.
It doesn't show up looking likea mugshot or a hospital bed.
It shows up looking like just one drink.
It shows up looking like thatex who was fun but crazy.
We all have them.

(01:51):
It shows up looking like aquick way to make some cash.
Hmm.
it tastes like honey first.
That's the hook.
But then verse four drops the hammer.
In the end, she's as bitter as wormwoodand as sharp as a two-edged sword.
We have to play the tapeall the way through.
You can't just look at the honey.
You have to look at the hangover.

(02:12):
You have to look at the handcuffs.
The beginning part is a lie.
The ending is the truth.
But what happens if we ignorethat warning and we take the bait?
Solomon breaks down the costof relapse, and it's a lot
more expensive than just money.
Listen to verse seven,
so my friend, listen closely.
Don't treat my words casually.

(02:34):
Keep your distance from such a woman.
Absolutely stay out of her neighborhood.
You don't wanna squander yourwonderful life to waste your
precious life among the hardhearted.
Why should you allow strangersto take advantage of you?
Why be exploited by thosewho care nothing for you?
You don't wanna end your life full ofregrets, nothing but sin and bones.

(02:58):
Saying, oh, why didn'tI do what they told me?
Why did I reject a disciplined life?
Why didn't I listen to my mentorsor take my teachers seriously?
My life is ruined.
I haven't one blessingto show for my life.
Man, this section hits hard for anybodywho has lost years to addiction.

(03:19):
He talks about giving Your Honor toothers and your years to the hardhearted.
Take a second and think aboutwho the hardhearted are.
When we're in active addiction,we give our money to the dealer.
We give our freedom to the legal system.
We give our peace of mindto the chaos around us.
We make strangers rich while ourown families go without Solomon

(03:41):
describes the end result perfectly.
You've groan at the end when your fleshand body are consumed with regrets.
He's describing the physical andthe emotional bankruptcy of relapse.
The takeaway here is simple.
Keep your assets, keep your honor.
Don't sign your life away to a substancethat doesn't care if you live or die.

(04:02):
Stop funding the enemy.
So how do we avoid getting trapped?
Solomon finishes the chapter by givingus the antidote, finding satisfaction
in what we already have, and a finalwarning about who's actually to blame.
Let's check out the last few verses here.
Do you know the saying, drink fromyour own rain barrel, draw water

(04:22):
from your own spring fed well?
It's true.
Otherwise, you may one daycome home and find your barrel
empty and your well polluted.
Your spring water is for you, and you onlynot to be passed around amongst strangers.
Bless your fresh flowing fountain.
Enjoy the wife that youmarried as a young man.

(04:43):
Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose.
Don't ever quit takingdelight in her body.
Never take her love for granted.
Why would you trade enduring intimaciesfor cheap thrills with a prostitute, for
dalliance with a promiscuous stranger?
Mark well, that God doesn'tmiss a move that you make.

(05:06):
He's aware of every step you take, theshadow of your sin will overtake you.
You'll find yourself stumblingall over yourself in the dark.
Death is the reward ofan undisciplined life.
Your foolish decisionstrap you in a dead end.
There are two massive thingshappening in this last section here.

(05:26):
First, he says, drink water fromyour own well, what that means is
stop looking for happiness out there.
Stop looking for the next thrill,the next partner or the next high.
Find satisfaction in the lifethat you're building right now.
Find joy in your own recovery,your own family, your own peace.

(05:47):
The grass isn't greener on the other side.
It's greener where you water it.
And second, look at how thechapter ends here in verse 22.
In the NIV version, it says, the evildeeds of the wicked ensnare them the
cords of their sins, hold them fast.
We often like to blame the cops or thejudge, or the system, but Solomon is

(06:08):
saying here that we braided the ropesthat are holding us back ourselves.
Every bad decision thatwe make is another knot.
Recovery though is the process ofuntying those knots one day at a time.
Don't add more rope today.
Yeah.
So the takeaways from Proverbsfive to keep the police outta
your life today are this.

(06:28):
Number one, play the tape through.
If it tastes like honey, butends like poison, spit it out.
Number two, stop funding the enemy.
Don't give your honor or youryears or your wealth to strangers.
And number three, water your own grass.
Find joy in what you haveand stop braiding ropes that

(06:50):
will eventually tie you up.
I will see you tomorrow for day six,we're gonna be talking about the co-signer
and why you need to watch your wallet.
Listen, a free way to support this podcastand show the platform that this is good
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Comment your thoughts below.
Maybe drop a honeypot if you'reavoiding that trap today, and share

(07:10):
this with a friend who might need alittle encouragement in their life.
And as always, stay sober.
Not boring.