October 30
Now then, my sons, listen to me, And do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house, Lest you give your vigor to others, And your years to the cruel one; Lest strangers be filled with your strength, And your hard earned goods go to the house of an alien; And you groan at your latter end, When your flesh and your body are consumed; And you say, “How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! And I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to my instructors! I was almost in utter ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation.” (Proverbs 5:7-14)
Continuing where we left off yesterday, let me take this a step further and say that I believe this also applies at least to some extent to viewing pornography. It seems enticing at first, but it has dire consequences. It destroys your mind and destroys relationships. It ruins people and good reputations and ministries. It is repeatedly committing adultery in the heart, which is sin in God’s sight. It alters the mind and body in negative ways. It is addictive. It destroys self-control. It amounts to loving and rejoicing in evil and the things that God hates. It in essences is reveling in the death and destruction of others. It is a vapor, a fantasy, an emptiness that makes you just as empty. It doesn’t deliver on its promises. It destroys our fellowship and clear conscience before God. It gives God’s enemies a reason to mock Him. It opens the door for Satan to take from us and harm us and our loved ones. Pornography is not harmless but likewise causes eternal loss and destruction.
I think I can pretty well prove this point. Those of you who have committed acts of immorality or have lusted after someone in your heart or have viewed pornography, who among you are glad you did what you did? How many of you wouldn’t jump at the chance to do things over again and avoid the sin in the first place, keeping a good conscience and a pure heart before the Lord? I can’t imagine any Christian being glad that they sinned, and I expect all would have remorse and would choose an entirely different course if they had the chance to do things over again. Doesn’t that prove the point as well as anything that nothing good comes from these sins?
Note the agony and regret that is expressed in the verses above! It is this regret we just spoke of, the pain of having been deceived and carried away by our own pride and lusts – the remorse of having spurned wise counsel and having listened to the voice of evil. Notice the costs that Solomon lists here: giving “your vigor to others” and “your years to the cruel one,” strangers being “filled with your strength,” and “your hard earned goods go to the house of an alien,” “your flesh and your body consumed!” What consequences he sets forth for adultery! And I believe this is true for all immoral acts. There are dire consequences for these things, and God, speaking to us through the pen of Solomon, warns us and gives us a picture of what it looks like on the other side of things, in hope that we might just gain a little understanding and wisdom through the ruin and fall of others.