Purify Your Mind Series (Part 3) by Joe KirbyNäide

When People Are Exalted

"So I came out to meet you, Diligently to seek your face, And I have found you." (Proverbs 7:15)

Three times in this short verse, the adulterous woman makes this young man feel special. First, she came out especially to him—out of all the men in the world, she longed to meet him. Second, she was diligently looking for his face in the crowd—she didn’t want to see any other face but his. Third, she found him—like a precious piece of jewelry she had once lost, now she has found him. Wouldn’t such words make anyone feel special?

This tactic isn’t used only on men; I’ve often heard women proudly say about their partner, “He worships the ground I walk on.” Manipulative men know that the way to exploit a woman is to make her feel loved, and dumping her once they get what they want.

Why are we so susceptible to flattery? The answer is pride. In our flesh, whether we see it or not, is a desire to be exalted, to be admired. The very sin that cast God’s most beautiful angel, Lucifer, from heaven is the same sin that would have us desire to be worshipped by others. May we humble ourselves and consider the Savior, who made Himself nothing. He was the one who should be rightfully exalted and worshipped, but He became a servant—to die for our pride, lust, and every other sin. May the thought of Christ and His genuine, sincere love for us be enough that we would not be deceived into seeking love from the wrong places.