Job 31:27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:

Secretly enticed? Really? Don’t we know enticements by now? Free! Interest free for 90 days. No payments due for a year. Nothing down. For the young and inexperienced that sounds fine but for many of us that have been there done that, not so much.

Let me ask you this then, you wise and well-traveled brothers and sisters in the Lord, what catches your eye? What perks up your ear to listen? You have avoided obvious enticements but what are the secret enticements of your heart to which you give approval?

The mouth kissing the hand is a sign of approval of action. It is to consent that a thing does not weigh heavily on your conscience. It is the secret of the heart, but it is still an enticement.

Romans 14:22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

Allow me to ask you to test these things you allow by conscience, happily. Are they by faith? Does God consent to the enticements of your heart? Are you in danger of happy consent turning into temptation? It is like window shopping for a new car when the one you have is serviceable and not yet paid off. I am just looking and yet as I see what is offered, I compare those new features against my older model and it begins to stir discontent with a perfectly good car. How long do I have to “window shop” before I find myself wanting that new car.

That is just one example, safe enough, but how many things secretly entice our hearts that are not safe? If I consent to look but not to touch, how far off is that first test drive? In this I am not specifically speaking about a new car. It could be any enticement of the heart. Knowing God as I do, I do not believe consent to this is by faith.

Psalm 77:9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.

Selah! There is our hint to take a moment and ponder the Word given.

God doesn’t forget. We do. In our anger we often forget to be gracious. It isn’t easy to be gracious when we are offended. Our natural instinct is to strike back when hurt. We are told to turn the other cheek. Ever been slapped hard across the face? Ever been struck by someone who means to do you harm? Ever been wounded deeply? It is in those moments when character wins.

People are quick to point to the wrath of God because it stands out as something we by nature can most easily associate with. We associate striking back instinctively. Self-preservation is instinctive. In all we do, preservation of self, family, nation and culture are instinctual. It is only natural to see ourselves in God’s wrath.

God is gracious and merciful but witnessing those moments are not as obvious. They are not as obvious in many cases because they are not found in the highlight reels. Spectacle stands out in our mind. Grace is soft and tender, nothing spectacular in grace unless you need it.

Being gracious is harder than being angry. It isn’t natural, it is not instinctual unless it is built into your character. Being conformed into the image of Christ is all about building character. Having all this word knowledge and understanding how you are expected to act gets tossed right out the window at the first blow.

Knowledge is easy. Building character is difficult. This new creature we are in Christ has to overcome so much of our natural instincts. It takes time to build character and that is done through experiencing some things that are not necessarily pleasant.

Acts 9: 16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

Christian is not so much name as it is character!