Lips of an Angel

The current craze on secular radio is a song that doesn’t sit well with me. Every time I hear it, I feel unsettled, uncomfortable, almost angered.

The melody, the tone, the sound of the song is appealing, but the words are disconcerting.

The man singing receives a phone call from an old girlfriend. His current girlfriend (or wife) is in the next room blissfully unaware, as he is entertaining the propositions of this temptress. He seems torn as he speaks. “You make it hard to be faithful, with the lips of an angel.”

The lines are catchy, and seem to have caught on all over, but they have not caught our consciences. I have been surprised at the places I have heard them played, repeated, and even discussed. In fact Sunday as I was leaving church, I heard a car exiting our parking lot with music blaring, windows down. And those were the words that it proclaimed.

Disconcerting.

“The lips of an angel.” This is the lie. This is the point where Satan has trapped the man. The woman is not an angel. She is not the epitome of perfection, beauty, or satisfaction. She is the essence of sin in his life. She is temptation, entrapment, and the road to destruction. If he passes through her door, he walks into heart-wrenching pain.

Satan himself was an angel. And now disguises himself as such to tempt us into sin. He always comes promising something he can’t deliver – satisfaction. He uses beautiful things (created by God) to allure us. He offers desirable results (appealing to man) to tempt us. He throws out seductive phrases (that seem like truth) to charm us. He pulls us in. He makes it 'hard to be faithful.'

Does temptation exist? Absolutely. Should it be a form of entertainment? Not at all.

In the situation this man finds himself in, maybe a love song for his wife would be a good reminder of where his commitment lies. Or better yet, a song of worship to His Savior, who made it possible for him to be victorious over sin. Getting descriptive over the depths of temptation he feels doesn’t help him to escape it. Repeating the words he sings doesn’t help us either.

We must turn upward.

“Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. Therefore… fix your thoughts on Jesus.” (Hebrews 2:18-3:1)