THE DANGER OF LUST

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.

For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.

Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house, lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel, lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another. At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors. And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God’s people.”

Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.

Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman? For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all your paths.

The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast. For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly.

My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.

For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life, keeping you from your neighbor’s wife, from the smooth talk of a wayward woman. Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes. For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread, but another man’s wife preys on your very life.

Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.

People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving. Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house. But a man who commits adultery has no sense; whoever does so destroys himself. Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away.

For jealousy arouses a husband’s fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge. He will not accept any compensation; he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.

My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.

Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and to insight, “You are my relative.” They will keep you from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words.

At the window of my house I looked down through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who had no sense. He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in.

Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. (She is unruly and defiant, her feet never stay at home; now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.) She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said:

“Today I fulfilled my vows, and I have food from my fellowship offering at home. So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you! I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love! My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon.”

With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.

Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say. Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.

Proverbs 5, 6:20-35, 7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

When it comes to destroying a loving relationship, perhaps nothing is more devastating than infidelity resulting in adultery. There’s something particularly damaging and explicitly demoralizing when a person becomes violated by the one they thought they could trust in, the one they considered their best friend in life. I know because I’ve been there, on the receiving end of unfaithfulness and betrayal.

Statistically, I’m not alone in having experienced this. In 2012 alone, 57 percent of all men and 54 percent of all women in committed relationships chose to engage in adulterous behavior. And as if this isn’t good enough, consider that 74 percent of men and 68 percent of women said they would have an affair if there was no chance they would be caught. In other words, they were definitely thinking about it but not acting on it solely because they wanted to get away with it.

What on earth is happening to the institution of marriage?

The easy answer is sin but the more specific response when we get into the matter of adultery is lust, lust that drags us into the dangerous territory of temptation.

There's little wonder why Jesus spoke out on this matter in the initial teaching of His disciples. Look at what he had to say:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28

Jesus and His listeners were well aware of God’s commandments given to Moses to pass onto the Israelites, commandments they were always to follow as are we today more than 2,000 years later. God’s words were simple:

“You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14

Nothing more needed to be said on this matter at the time. God said don’t commit adultery and so we were not to do it. But unfortunately, the problem didn’t stop. Adultery happened again and again and again in Old Testament times. People weren’t getting it and so Jesus sought to provide additional direction to help God’s people stay obedient to His commandment to abstain from adulterous behavior.

Note that Jesus struck at the trigger for adultery, not so much at adultery itself. As he did for murder, Jesus tried to get people to see that if you eliminated the impetus for sinful actions then you could go a long way toward not committing them in the first place. Don’t get angry and you can avoid murdering. Don’t lust and you will avoid adultery.

You see, sexual sin like adultery is grounded in intoxicating seduction. We’re bombarded with this everywhere we turn today. Women scantily clad, revealing their body parts. Men buff, bare-chested, and exposed. Sexual innuendo and/or behavior making regular appearances on television and in movies. Pornography so easily accessible that people can commit adultery in the way Jesus described in the privacy of their own homes, lusting after any number of men and women willing to expose themselves for the pleasure of others.

Yes, there is no shortage of opportunities for one to fall into the dangers of lust today. This is why the scriptures need to address so much. In Proverbs alone, two and a half chapters were written to address the matter head on. It’s obvious that there was an adultery problem even in Old Testament days. Look at some of the words that portrayed an adulteress:

- The lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil.

-  Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. (She is unruly and defiant, her feet never stay at home; now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.) She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said: “Today I fulfilled my vows, and I have food from my fellowship offering at home. So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you! I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love! My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon.” With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.

So enticing. So alluring. So appealing. So enthralling. Such is the adulteress and the adulterer as well (don’t forget that this issue of adultery is not gender specific).

But don’t get so caught up in the temptation that you lose sight of the penalty. Don’t think that going after some short term feel-good moment will not carry with it long term consequences. For the dangers of lusting are deadly as described in these words about the adulteress:

- In the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.

- Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house, lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel, lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another. At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors. And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God’s people.”

- With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.

It’s little wonder why Solomon urged his readers to do the following:

Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes. Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.

Friends, we need to be satisfied with the blessing of love that the Lord has provided us. We need to follow the wisdom of the scriptures and drink water from our own cistern, running water from our own well, rejoicing in the opportunity to love our wives (or husbands), always feeling content and at peace with them, ever intoxicated in the love we share with them.

Relationships and especially marital relationships can be counted among the most precious and valuable of all blessings that the Lord grants. We should honor Him in the way we live within them and understand that nothing we do is hidden from His sight. For Solomon reminds us that our ways are in full view of the Lord who is examining our paths.

Embrace divine wisdom and we can always ensure we will turn from lust and temptation and opt instead for righteousness in all things, including our relationship. Choose to turn from it and you can expect to be ensnared by the deeds of the wicked, held fast by their sinfulness. They will be seen as having no sense and bent on self destruction. They will be robed in disgrace and their shame will never be wiped away.

Thus are the dangers of lust, lust which leads to adultery, lust which violates, insults, and destroys the victim and the perpetrator.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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