The Venus Fly Trap of Sin

Buzz, buzz, buzz—the fly zoomed past my face and headed toward a Venus flytrap plant in the store. I know it is gruesome, but I had to watch. Would the fly escape or end its life? I watched the fly go over the top of the plant and turn around to take another pass. It slowed down on the second approach and landed on the outside leaf. The fly wandered around the outside leaves, and then it stepped inside. You guessed it. The Venus flytrap closed and the tempted fly became its meal.

This illustration parallels the believer’s decision to walk around the edges of temptation as the devil is our Venus flytrap. Like the plant which emits a scent and a blue glow to lure flies into its mouth, the devil makes sin look fun and gratifying. He often whispers that you deserve to relax, escape, or a reward and you can handle doing the sin just one time. The reality of these lies is evident in the epidemic of Meth and other drug addicts. Just one time for these people was once too many. Now they are caught in the devils sticky trap of addiction.

Temptation happens to everyone and probably daily. Temptation is a desirous self-thought and not a sin. It turns to a sin when you decide to act on your desirous self-thought, like the fly when it stepped into the Venus flytrap. God knew we would need to understand the process of sins, so He had James, the brother of Jesus, describe how temptation becomes sin.

“ But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” James 1:14-15 English Standard Version (ESV)

I have known God since the age of seven. However, I did not understand the process of sin or how I could overcome it until I started studying the Bible in my mid-thirties. I had heard about the armor of God, but it was not a reality until I developed a personal relationship with Jesus every day. God’s armor became real, and I learned how to pray and lean on the Holy Spirit when I felt tempted to step into sin. Learning to overcome sin through Jesus required me to foster a progressive relationship as I walked in my faith.

It is vital for all the sons and daughters of God to know you can only overcome temptation through God’s word and the help, defenses, and power available to you through Jesus Christ. Jesus himself had to trust God and used these resources as he overcame temptation in the desert and on the cross. If he needed them in his human form, we need them.

If you did not know the process of temptation and sin and you want to overcome the devils plan to kill, steal, and destroy all that is precious in your life, seek God through His word. Dwell with Him and partner with Jesus every day, and you will live in Christ’s abundance of love and transforming grace. Hold the hand of Jesus and overcome the Venus flytraps of temptations in your life.