“DO NOT FORGET MY LAW, BUT LET YOUR HEART KEEP MY COMMANDS.” —PROVERBS 3:1
Dr. Paul Brand was one of the world’s leading experts on the treatment of Hansen’s disease, more commonly known as leprosy. Leprosy is cruel, Dr. Brand explained, in a way no other disease is cruel. It acts like an anesthetic, numbing the nerve cells of hands, feet, nose, ears, and eyes.
That might not sound so bad at first; most diseases are feared for the pain they induce. But the terror of this “painless” disease is the damage wreaked upon a numbed and unmindful victim, who “forgets” to defend himself against destructive situations. He once witnessed, horrified, as an afflicted person reached into a fire to retrieve a potato that had fallen into the flames.
Spiritual backsliding works a lot like leprosy, and the Old Testament King Solomon was a prime example.
Godly men like Solomon don’t just decide one day to turn their backs on the Lord and walk away from His blessings. It is a slow, sneaky process like leprosy.
When Solomon started slipping away from the Lord, God didn’t issue a light slap on the wrist or a gentle, “Be careful, now!”
Bells, whistles, and flashing red lights were going off, and Solomon ignored them.
How?
What was Solomon’s great sin? History tells us that he indeed went down the slippery slope of idolatry and disobedience. But where did it start?
He answers that question with his own words: “My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands” (Proverbs 3:1).
Solomon’s heart had turned slowly. The hardness and coldness toward God crept over his once healthy soul like a cruel disease that silently invades a healthy body, unnoticed, until it’s too late.
Solomon stepped right into the fires of deception and pride like a leper whose senses are so numbed he thinks the fires can’t burn him, and fanned the flames. What is the deterrent to keep us from such danger? “Let your heart, not just our minds and outside actions, but our hearts, keep God’s Word close as His Holy Spirit comforts, guides, and gives us the power to walk with God.
