Easy Targets

 Read Proverbs 7

Solomon again devotes most of a chapter to the adulterous woman. Let’s focus on verse 15.

So I came out to meet you;

    I looked for you and have found you!

This is targeting, but who is the target.

We talk about Satan targeting believers.  We talk about temptation working on us as we strive to live in our new nature.  We talk about having trouble in this world but taking courage because Christ has overcome this world, but what Solomon was talking about is targeting the least equipped among us.

We may call them the simple.  We can call them those who live in their own understanding, but those who would trap these people simply call them targets.

Do you know who else uses these targeting measures?

Terrorists.  The terrorist does not want to fight strength against strength but wants to find the most high-profile target that can be attacked with the least resistance.

If you walk in the ways of the Lord, Satan might just try to trip you up.  You have the name of Jesus to combat him, but you should still put on the full armor of God.  We know this.

Sometimes we wrestle with our own sinful nature.  We must remember:  He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  We know this.

The person without God or who claims there is a God but really doesn’t want to know him or follow his ways, is a vulnerable target.  He or she is unprepared for the ways of the world.  He walks into the ambush of the adulterous woman. She has set her trap on the path that leads to destruction.

While Solomon spoke of a vulnerable young man and a crafty and experienced woman; treachery comes in both genders.  Vulnerability is not restricted to young men.

Realize that as a follower of Christ Jesus, you are a target for the enemy.  If you are living without God, you are an easy target for the enemy and might not even notice you have been trapped until it’s too late.

For most who are considering these words, you fall into the former category.  You follow Jesus and you put on the full armor of God as you face the enemy. You will still have spiritual battles, but you arrive at the battlefield prepared.

For those who are adrift without responding to God’s call and surely not seeking his ways, they need our help.  Our mission once again is to call the lost to come home.

Repent and believe the good news.  Some will not hear you, but our call to them goes out anyway. This is not fashionable in our day. The world has proclaimed that anything goes, except what God has prescribed, but we call the lost nonetheless.

Our actions stand in contrast to this world. We do not belong to this world and we owe no loyalty to its ways.

We would not be silent if someone stepped in front of a tractor-trailer doing fifty miles an hour through town and we must not be silent as people drift aimlessly through the world and into its traps.

We are fully equipped for every good work but some people live with a target on them that says, “I’m an easy mark.”

Wisdom, love, and empathy prompt us to reach out to them before it’s too late.

The traps of the world have been set.  We stay vigilant, but we also warn others who are not yet prepared for the battles with the world.

The enemy will target you, but you must not be an easy target. Love compels us to help others to know the strength of the Lord and help them take the bullseye off their backs.

Amen.