The Sirens Songs

1. Read: Proverbs 26:24 – “He who hates, disguises it with his lips, And lays up deceit within himself.”

2. About the Text:

1) In ancient Greek mythology, sirens were evil being that lured sailors to destruction.

a. They were depicted as part woman part bird in ancient Greece.

b. It wasn’t until later that they were visualized as mermaids.

2) The myth was a symbol of something seemingly beautiful that has a deadly end.

3) Sailors were lured by the sirens to crash their boats on the rocks.

4) The Sirens songs were lies that brought sailors to destruction.

5) Today’s siren songs are also lies that we tell ourselves about how life would be better.

a. When we compare one thing to another, it is usually at the expense of someone else.

b. This is hatred.

c. Like the proverb said, hatred is usually disguised and accompanied with deceit.

6) Let’s consider a few modern-day siren songs.

3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. This is the siren song of envy.

1) Envy hates what one has and desires what another has.

2) The lie of envy is that life would be better if only we had what our neighbor has.

3) This could be anyone.

4) What is it that others have that we want?

a. Education

b. Intelligence

c. Beauty

d. Strength

e. Family

f. Job

g. Possessions

5) Envy destroys contentment and joy because it is never satisfied.

2. What does the Bible say?

1) “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones” (Proverbs 14:30).

2) “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long” (Proverbs 23:17).

3) “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied” (Proverbs 27:20).

4) “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish” (James 3:14-15).

3. If the grass is greener on the other side, water your grass!

1) Stop focusing on other people’s things and focus on improving yourself!

2) This takes effort.

1. This is the siren song of nostalgia.

1) Nostalgia says that things were better in the past.

2) Our memories are selective, and they look at past experiences favorably.

3) It causes one to focus on the past instead of the present.

4) It can create a feeling of wanting to give up what one is presently doing.

2. The Bible comments on this attitude.

1) Remember the Israelites as they were wandering in the wilderness: “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick” (Numbers 11:5).

2) They forgot about the “hard bondage” (Exodus 1:14).

3) They forgot about the Pharoah ordering them to kill all of their male children (Exodus 1:16).

4) “Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For you do not inquire wisely concerning this” (Ecclesiastes 7:10).

3. How can we make what is happening today better?

1) Focus on the present.

2) Make an effort to improve your current situation.

3) Appreciate what is happening currently.

1. This is the siren song of fornication/adultery.

1) The realities of relationships are often NOT what people expect.

2) When our expectations are not met, we become disappointed.

3) This causes us to look somewhere else for companionship.

a. Many young girls think that they will be loved if they commit fornication.

b. Young boys do not have the same thoughts.

4) Married men and women are tempted to think life would be better without their spouse.

2. What does the Bible say?

1) “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).

2) “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).

3. How can I make my relationships better?

1) “Nevertheless, because of fornication, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband” (1 Corinthians 7:2).

2) “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body” (Ephesians 5:22-23).

3) “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church” (Ephesians 5:28-29).

4) Love the one you are with!

1. This is the siren song of suicide.

1) So many use this rationalization to end their lives.

2) They think that no one loves them.

3) They think that they are alone.

4) This leads to feelings of self loathing and hatred.

2. What does the Bible say?

1) “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Suicide is self murder.

2) “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15).

3) God is the God of life, not death.

4) “‘For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,’ says the Lord GOD. ‘Therefore turn and live!’” (Ezekiel 18:32).

5) “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

3. How can we end the cycle of self hatred?

1) Recognize that God values everyone – Genesis 1:27

2) Recognize that you are worth the blood of Christ – 1 Peter 1:18-19

3) Recognize that when God forgives, you are forgiven!

a. “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:7).

b. “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them, then He adds, Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:16-17).

c. “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

d. “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:38).

e. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 10:17).

4) Sometimes we need personal help to overcome our issues.

4. There is only ONE you, and God saw fit to bring you into this world.

1. The Siren’s Songs are lies that we tell ourselves….

1) The Grass is NOT Greener – Water your own grass.

2) The good old days are NOT better – Appreciate what you have now.

3) Life would NOT be better in the arms of another – Love the one you are with.

4) NO ONE would be better off without you – There is only one you.

2. Invitation