#422 - Kyle Thompson // Your Siren Song

We use Homer’s Sirens to expose a modern trap: we chase temptation for “wisdom” and think a safety net will save us. We contrast Odysseus tying himself to the mast with God’s command to flee, then press on practical ways to build escape routes before desire takes over. 
• the Sirens as a picture of temptation that sells forbidden knowledge 
• Odysseus’s plan to get close and why willpower collapses in the moment 
• 1 Corinthians 10:13 and the Bible’s language of escape 
• 1 Corinthians 6:18 as a clear command to flee sexual immorality 
• Proverbs 7 and the warning to stay far from the door 
• Joseph in Genesis 39 choosing to run rather than negotiate 
• a gut check on porn access, intimate coworker conversations, and repeating patterns 
• building accountability and guardrails before temptation hits 
Before you go, if you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five star rating and review. 

Transcript

Welcome And The Daily Blade

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Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

Homer’s Sirens And The Setup

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So we spent this week looking at some of the biblical truths that we can glean from one of the most famous writings in the entire canon of fiction, The Odyssey by Homer. Today we're discussing the most famous temptation scene in all of ancient literature. So yesterday we discussed how Odysseus schemed his way out of danger with the Cyclops in the cave. And then after his escape, Odysseus receives a warning from the witch goddess Circe Beware of the island of sirens, whose singing is so beautiful that any sailor who hears it steers straight for the rocks and dies. And Circe goes further to describe a beach that is littered with the bones of men who simply could not resist the siren song. Like literally every man who has ever heard the siren song has died. And here's Circe's instruction and Odysseus's plan.

Odysseus Binds Himself To Listen

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But if you like, you can listen yourself, for you may get the men to bind you as you stand upright on a cross piece halfway up the mast, and they must lash the ropes' ends to the mast itself. If you beg and pray the men to unloos you, then they must unbind you faster. So notice this in Odysseus's plan. He doesn't avoid the temptation of the siren song. He wants to hear it. And at the core of the sirens' promise in their song is not pleasure, but forbidden knowledge. Here's the quote from Homer He who listens will go on his way, not only charmed, but wiser. So Odysseus literally engineers a plan that will allow him to flirt with temptation that would lead most other people, all other people, to complete destruction, right? He's arrogantly betting that he is smart enough to survive the temptation as long as he has the right safety net in place. And the actual plan that he did worked barely. As most of you know, he hears the song of the sirens, and true to Circei's warning, he loses his mind. He begs and pleads with his men to release him so he can swim towards the rocks. Luckily for Odysseus, his men's ears are plugged with wax, they can't hear a word that he's saying. They just see their captain freaking out against the ropes, and they follow the original order to stand firm and to tie him even tighter, right? To keep him tight. Extremely tempting situation because he's built a system and scaffolding that didn't trust his own willpower based on the level it was at that moment. So Odysseus's plan was to get as close to death as possible and dare it to take him. So that's how Odysseus chose, you know, chose to deal with the temptation. But now we need to see what God has to say about

God’s Way Out Is Escape

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the matter. And then we have Paul saying this in 1 Corinthians 10, 13. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. So again, guys, notice the word choice here for Paul. It's escape. Not a really tightly wrapped rope, it's an escape route, right? And Paul actually says this a little bit earlier in his first letter to the church in Corinth. He says this in 1 Corinthians 6 18. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. So don't hang out near it. Don't get as close as you can. Don't have your buddies grab another rope. Flee. Get away.

Proverbs 7 And Joseph’s Run

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And guys, you should read Proverbs 7 today. It's an entirety. We don't really have time to go over the entire thing now. But Proverbs 7 describes this exact same danger that Odysseus is dealing with in regards to the sirens. In Proverbs 7, there's a man that is pulled in by much seductive speech. He's lured the way that the sailors were lured by that song. And the counsel given in Proverbs 7 isn't go stand near the adulteress and see how strong you are. It's don't go near her house, stay far from her door. And do you remember the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife, right? We have Potiphar's wife grabbed his garment, basically said, Take me to bed, big daddy. And in Genesis 39, 12, it says, He left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. So he did not negotiate or test his willpower at this moment. He left his clothing behind rather than to stay one more millisecond. That's what he did.

Odysseus Strategy Vs Joseph Strategy

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So here's the gut check for you guys that I'm sure many of you have uh you had to learn the hard way. How many of you are running the Odysseus strategy instead of the Joseph strategy? So you don't actually delete the app that gives you access to pornographic materials. You just tell yourself that you'll be stronger next time. You don't quickly leave the room when a conversation with a female coworker transitions from work to personal and then to intimate. You just tell yourself that you've got the situation under control. You don't stop yourself before you even walk into the bar. You just promise that this time won't be like the last time. But here's the reality: you're sailing straight at the rocks on purpose because part of you wants to hear the song of the sirens. You've convinced yourself that as long as there's a rope tied around you, like an accountability app or a good excuse or a plan to stop, that you'll survive. You want to test the fires. And look, Odysseus survived barely, but only because other men's ears plugged with their other, you know, their ears being plugged, they refused to listen when he screamed to be let loose. Because Odysseus's own willpower was worthless at the moment. He was literally begging to die on the rocks. The only thing that saved him was a system built before the temptation

Build Systems Before Temptation Hits

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hit. So the sirens promised wisdom, just like the dragon in the Garden of Eden, but all they delivered were bones on a beach. Guys, I mean this. Every temptation you're circling right now is selling you the same lie. And those are some big lessons for you to take away for this week. Be like Joseph. Literally run away from temptation when you're in the middle of it, and also deputize some men around you to tie you down before you even have the opportunity to destroy yourself.

Share The Show And Stay Sharp

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Thank you for listening to today's episode. Before you go, if you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five star rating and review. Stay sharp.