Proverbs 27:12 (The Message)
12 A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.

The Message translation gives a clear illustration of King Solomon’s words. A prudent person will move away from temptation, but for those that don’t, they walk into sin and get clobbered by it. There are consequences for sin and the person who falls into the temptation will eventually face the consequences.

When I was a teen, a man I knew came into the gas station where I worked wearing a bandage on his head. I asked him what happened and he said he had just left a movie and was walking down Main Street during the evening; suddenly a man stepped out of the alley and hit him over the head with a 2x4 board. The next thing this man remembered was waking up in the alley at 3am and his wallet was gone. I’ll never forget his next words, “I knew things like that happened, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen to me. I guess I just wasn’t paying attention.” It’s a good illustration of the temptation of sin. We know people can be tempted by sin. We have even seen others who have been tempted and fallen into sin, but we thought it wouldn’t happen to us. Then because we are not paying attention we fall into the temptation and sin whacks us over the head with a 2x4. Are you paying attention to the temptations that are coming at you? Pray God will open your eyes to see the dangers of sin that await you. Pray He will preserve you in those moments of temptation. Pray that you will endure and stay strong in the Lord.