The Art of Seduction

 

The book of Proverbs contains many passages relating to sexual matters, but one of the more extended and interesting passages is contained in Proverbs chapter 7.  In this chapter we see a description of the art of seduction.  A person who follows these techniques will quite successfully seduce the object of his or her desire.

 

6 ¶ For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, 7  And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, 8  Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, 9  In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: 10  And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. 11  (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: 12  Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) 13  So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, 14  I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. 15  Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. 16  I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. 17  I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18  Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. 19  For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: 20  He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. 21  With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. 22  He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;

 

Step 1: Find someone available, (vs. 8.)  The young man was in place where temptation was readily available, and the seducer took advantage of that fact.

 

Step 2: Convince your target that it’s not really wrong, (vs. 14.)  It’s just for fun, after all.  Or it’s all right as long as it is between two consenting adults.  It can’t be wrong if it feels so right.  It’s all right as long as we love each other.

 

Step 3: Convince your target your desire is for only him/her, (vs. 15.)  You have been waiting just for him/her.  If only you knew how special you are to me.  I have to be careful, because you are the type of person I could fall in love with.

 

Step 4: Convince your target it will be a pleasant experience.  Entice them with sensual surroundings, (vs 16, 17.)  Make them feel special, like you went to some effort just to please them.  Make them feel a little guilty for turning you down.

 

Step 5: Convince your target it doesn’t mean anything, (vs. 18.)  Sex is just for fun:, no strings, no commitment.  There’s nothing wrong with two people enjoying each other and giving each other pleasure.  As long as we each got something out of it, what does it matter?

 

Step 6: Convince your target that you won’t get caught, (vs. 19.)  The parents are asleep, the door is locked, the house is empty, no one need ever know. 

 

Step 7: Wear your target down, (vs. 21.)  If you have followed the steps precisely, and if your target is still around, you should be very close at this point.  Be gentle, but be persistent.  Since they haven’t left yet, they don’t need much persuasion, just a little push will do.

 

Let me tell you a little story about a coworker of mine.  Let’s call him Billy.  Billy had a beautiful seduction technique.  He had it down to a science.  It was so good, it almost never failed.  Billy would join a church youth group and pick out a young woman.  He would take his time, never rushing things.  After a couple weeks he would ask her out.  After another couple weeks he would tell her he really liked her a lot.  A couple weeks later he would tell her he was afraid he was starting to fall in love with her.  A couple weeks later he would tell her he loved her.  After that, he got sex all the time.  Eventually the sex began to taper off and the young woman would start to press for a commitment.  That was Billy’s cue to begin the process all over again at a different youth group.  By the time he had another young woman on the hook, he was ready to dump the first girl. 

 

A few years ago I took a course in aviation crash investigation.  What we discovered is that any crash has a chain of events that led up to it.  The goal of a crash investigation is to discover those links and devise ways to break them so they never occur again.  The chain of events always began with one event, one first link in the chain.  If that part hadn’t broken, if that procedure had been written correctly, if that pilot hadn’t made a bad decision, then the plane would not have crashed.  In any seduction there is a chain of events.  Break the link, any link, and the seduction will not happen.  The easiest link to break is the first one.  If a person is being seduced and hangs around, they are at some level hoping it will happen.  The best way to avoid temptation is not to be near it in the first place.  If the young man in Proverbs hadn’t been hanging around outside the adulterous women’s house, she never would have noticed him.

 

J. Vernon McGee told a story of a mother calling for her son, Johnny.  “Where are you,” she called out.  Johnny replied, “I’m standing in front of the cookie jar.”  “What are you doing in front of the cookie jar?” the mother asked.  “Resisting temptation,” little Johnny replied.  McGee then remarked that standing in front of the cookie jar is the wrong place to avoid temptation.  Or as the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “Flee also youthful lusts.” (2 Timothy 2:22) 

 

In Proverbs the young man passed by the adulterous women’s house.  Why was he there?  Did he know she was there?  Did he know she was looking for somebody, anybody?  Was he hoping she would choose him?  The scriptures don’t say, but we do know that he was around long enough for her to notice him, implying he was not otherwise engaged in worthwhile pursuits.  And we do know that, once cornered, (and unlike the story of Joseph,) he didn’t flee.  He stayed around and allowed himself to be talked into a sexual encounter.  He allowed himself to be convinced that it wasn’t really wrong, that he would enjoy himself, that he was the one she had been waiting for, that it didn’t really mean anything anyway, and that they couldn’t get caught.  He stayed around through all that, allowing his resistance to be worn down.  He was a willing ox, led to the slaughter.

 

And what of that young man?  How does the story end?  Was the encounter pleasant?  We can only assume so.  And did they get caught?  Probably not.  Then no harm, no foul, right?  Wrong.

 

22  He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; 23  Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. 24  Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. 25  Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. 26  For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. 27  Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. (Proverbs 7:6-27 AV)