(Further reflections on “Bitter Honey & Sweet Water”—Sunday 30-Oct-2022)
They were called ‘Romeo Spies’ by Markus Wolf, the notorious East German spymaster (c. 1950). It was considered as the broadest honey trap in intelligence history. The ‘Romeo Spies’ assignments was to infiltrate West Germany, seek out powerful, unmarried women, romance them, and squeeze from them all their secrets. Honey trap was and is still effective in espionage, business dealings, and in life.
"Bitter Honey" is an analogy that God's word in Proverbs (5:1-23) warned us about the potential danger if/when venturing near the forbidden or adulterous woman who ‘lure’ people to her ‘honey trap’. And the only way out, though it sounds simple but it is difficult to detect it sometimes, is to stay away from the 'honey trap'. Thus, we must keep our heart vigilant and our mind in tune with God's word. We also must know that when someone does not rejoice in a God-given spouse or drink from his/her own cistern, he/she is prone to try out 'bitter honey', which will usually cause them to hate discipline and eventually be suffocated by the honey trap.
Here are 3-step strategies on how we draw from God, as the loving Father, who passed down His heavenly wisdom to His earthly children, so that they can live fully in His blessing, rejoicing and delighting totally and tremendously in His given resources, and love His Son--Jesus.
(A.) Watch out for deception.
For example, look out for potential "strings attached" in expensive gifts. Pay attention to areas of your craving because honey-trappers (including your employers who offer big promotions) will use that to get you 'hooked'.
(B.) Heed the instructions.
Don't just merely listen to God's word and delay doing it (delayed obedience is disobedience). For example, when God said we must learn to rest in him, but we delay it by keeping on doing what we naturally known best, being anxious or worried. When this happens, we are prone to bite any (honey-trap) offer that we think it can bring relief to our pain. But at that moment, the mind can no longer think straight and the heart is already bent.
(C.) Guard the heart
When (not if) our heart tells us to do something. Don't immediately trust it, because we know that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick (cf. Jeremiah 17:9). So cross-examining our heart with Scriptures and the heart of God is a wise thing to do. Ask, "Is something I want for myself harmful to others?" (i.e. David wanted Bathsheba and harmed/kill her husband) or "Is my heart's desire godly?"
Prayerfully, the above strategy will help us to counter the "Romeo Spies" and "Bitter Honey" and empower us to live godly, righteously, and wisely in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
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Pastor Lap
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