October 29
“My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding; That you may observe discretion, And your lips may reserve knowledge. For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, And smoother than oil is her speech; But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of Sheol. She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it. ” (Proverbs 5:1-6)
Chapter 5 of Proverbs has much to say about adulterous relationships, as do chapters 6 and 7. Solomon describes with illustrative terms the deadly consequences of immorality. The words and enticements, the appeals and pleas, the visual allurements and arousals, the verbal flatteries and subtle pressuring, the questioning of one’s reasons to say no and assurances that it isn’t a bad thing, the promises of excitement and pleasures with no consequences, all of these are the draw, the spider’s web, the fisherman pulling at the line to make the bait on the hook look alive and appealing, the tranquilizer dart and drug to numb your reflexes and ability to run, the drug – all of these and more can be employed to lower our defenses and say yes to devastating sin. Solomon describes these techniques as the lips that “drip honey” and speech that is “smoother than oil,” and as a combination they can be intoxicating and extremely effective to those who want to be drawn in and are unaware of the unbelievably high cost of the sin they are about to commit.
Then Solomon gives the reality of the situation: that in the end the thing is “bitter as wormwood” (imagine thinking you were getting lemonade and instead being forced to drink a big glass of urine or vinegar – use whatever totally repulsive imagery you can think of and it will be mild compared to the eternal consequences committing acts of immorality) and her words “sharp as a two-edged sword,” that is, cutting and causing mortal wounding (it is not hard to imagine gruesome and bloody ways we could die).
But think this through with me. When you really think about it, being forced to drink or eat something really disgusting or even being killed in a really bloody manner are not nearly as bad as committing immoral acts. Would you rather be a faithful witness for Jesus, killed in a horrific way by the enemies of Christ (which is happening almost every day in some part of the world today) or tortured and humiliated for the sake of Christ, or would you rather commit acts of immorality and face God’s consequences and judgments for those acts, results that could negatively impact you and others for all eternity?
Jesus tells us to not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. He tells us to fear Him who is able to cast both body and soul into hell. (Matthew 10:28) God allows His people to undergo persecution and even death every day for His sake, and their reward in heaven is great. It would be far better to face the sword and torture and a lifetime of bitterness and be found pleasing to Christ than to sin against Him and be judged, especially such destructive and devastating sins of immorality.
Don’t be deceived. Immoral acts have devastating consequences, even sins of the mind and viewing pornography. More on this tomorrow.