Part 50 (1/2)

aIncredible follya! That is how adultery is described in Proverbs 5:23. But in secular society, adultery is characterized in more glowing terms: as.e.xual freedom,a aadult entertainment,a amature adventure,a afree love.a Who is right about adultery? Is it something to be embraced, or something to be avoided?

Look at the facts. Adultery can mean that ayou will lose your honora as well as your fortunes (5:9). Having spent years building a solid reputation for integrity and generating respect in the community, the adulterer finds himself exposed as a cheat. Heas cheated his wife and kids, and he has shown that he is not above lying to save his own skin. Should his wife react by legitimately terminating the marriage, astrangers will obtain [his] wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of [his] labora (5:10). His afree love,a he discovers, is not at all cheap!

Then there is the unpalatable truth that s.e.xually transmitted diseases are common among the unfaithful, so the adulterer may agroan in anguish when disease consumes [his] bodya (5:11). He will no doubt bear his share of shame and find reason to reflect on his own lack of discipline. He may even be wise enough to admit, aI have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgracea (5:14).

Modern society is certainly blas about adultery, but shame and stigma, ruin and regret are still part of the package. The allure of adultery masks the reality of moral, social, spiritual, and financial ruin. He therefore takes steps to avoid the adulterous path, to banish the adulterous thought, and to discipline the adulterous desire. He will also nurture the romantic and s.e.xual love of his wife, so that adulterous attraction is not so alluring because his desires are being appropriately sated and his commitments are being totally fulfilled.

Selfishness is the main reason for stress in all aspects of marriage. Unselfishness is the best cure for marital ills. Selfish people want their s.e.xual needs fulfilled, while unselfish people desire to meet the needs of their partner. Selfish people make s.e.xual demands, unselfish people give s.e.xual satisfaction. Any man whose wife meets his s.e.xual needs as he meets hers will find he has no desire to stray, and adultery will be far from his mind. He will cherish his wife and be cherished in return. His honor will remain intact; his integrity will be unsullied. Anything less is aincredible folly.a

November 16

TO READ: Proverbs 7:1-27

Seduction

Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family. Let them hold you back from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of an adulterous woman. . . . Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.

Proverbs 7:4-5, 27

Seduction wears many dresses, all of them attractive. Sometimes her dress is s.e.xy. Other times it reeks of money. Some days she wears her power suit. Seduction is all about money, s.e.x, and power.

Seduction has to wear heavy makeup to hide the blemishes. She wishes to convey a message that is fundamentally false. She presents her message wella”sweet as honey, smoother than oil, laden with flattery, and offering great reward for little expense.

aCome with me,a says seduction in her pricey dress. aI can offer you a deal that will make you rich. No risk, no questions asked, no downside, only profit. Together weall laugh all the way to the bank.a And the seductive words work. Hadnat he been particularly chosen for this opportunity because of his unique abilities? Wasnat this deal especially for him because he had been such a good friend? The offer is too good to be truea”because it isnat true. Smart as he is, seduction makes him like a asimpleminded young man who lacked common sensea (7:7).

Later, seduction comes to the man dressed to kill, alluringly perfumed and whispering promises of unimaginable delights. Does he need to be a.s.sured that his manhood is not diminished, that he is still attractive? She says she finds him irresistible, and her husband is away so n.o.body will know. To salve his conscience, she a.s.sures him that she, too, is religious: aIave offered my sacrifices and just finished my vowsa (7:14). So he goes with her, alike a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his lifea (7:23).

Later, seduction comes offering power at a bargain price. Just cut a couple of corners and the resulting prestige and position will place him among the movers and the shakers. Just think how much good he can do there! Itas an offer he cannot refuse.

But he should refuse, because embracing seduction leads to sin. And athe wages of sin is deatha (Rom. 6:23). So seductionas pretty dress becomes a burial shroud. aHer house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of deatha (Prov. 7:27).

The wise man knows enough to refuse seductionas blandishments. He embraces G.o.das instructions, he orders his life according to the dictates of his Lord, and he stands strong in the power of the Spirit. In standing, the wise man is strengthened in resolve and character, in reputation and honor.

November 17

TO READ: Proverbs 10:1-22

Getting Rich

Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich. A wise youth works hard all summer; a youth who sleeps away the hour of opportunity brings shame.

Proverbs 10:4-5

Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get richa (10:4). Proverbs like this are generally true, but there seem to be exceptions to every rule. There are some lazy people who seem to have the Midas touch: they do very little but what they touch turns to gold. By the same token, there are hard workers who never seem to be able to dig themselves out of the hole of their financial misfortune.

That said, there is great wisdom in reminding people who choose not to work that the result will be poverty, and athe poverty of the poor is their calamitya (10:15). The lazy person may blame his calamity on everything but himself. But the root of his problem lies between his two ears: his att.i.tude toward work is all wrong. He neither sees work as a privilege nor recognizes the n.o.bility of labor. He doesnat like work, and he feels obliged to avoid everything he does not like. It matters not to him that G.o.d worked and that Jesus spent the bulk of his life in honest toil. He is oblivious to the benefits of using his G.o.d-given time and talents, and he is not interested in producing something of value that will enrich the life of a needy person. Truly, a man awho sleeps away the hour of opportunity brings shamea (10:5).

On the other hand, the man who sets about his work with energy and determination usually provides abundantly for his dependents and produces enough to give generously to those in need. aThe earnings of the G.o.dly enhance their livesa (10:16). He has the means to offer to the Lord the fruit of his labor, and in the glow of this wors.h.i.+pful activity, the Lordas work prospers through the work of his hands. Such a man is aware that, while his work is productive, athe blessing of the Lord makes a person richa (10:22)a”it is the Lord who gives a man the ability to get wealth! The wise man knows it, utilizes the abilities he has been granted, and mingles his sweat with praise and his energies with thanksgiving.

So while there are n.o.ble poor people and rich rascals, as a general rule the lazy languish and the productive prosper. Those who work hard can take delight in a job well done, and they enjoy the benefits of things well earned. But those who lie lazily in self-induced poverty take delight in very little, for they have little that is delightful to enjoy.

November 18

TO READ: Ecclesiastes 2:1-12