Careless Thoughts

My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel. Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you’ve learned. For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. [Proverbs 5.1-3]

Proverbs chapters 5-7 address in whole or in part a single topic: promiscuity (adultery or sex outside of marriage).

These chapters particularly address men. There is, no doubt, a lesson in that fact all by itself. It would seem that if men would do right by God's Word, then the problem for women would be checked as well. And, that makes sense, right? After all, it takes two to commit adultery or promiscuity.

So, if men would pay attention to the wisdom recorded in Proverbs 5-7, there would be less suffering. Look at 5.7-11:

So now, my sons, listen to me. Never stray from what I am about to say: Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house! If you do, you will lose your honor and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved. Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor. In the end you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body. [Proverbs 5.7-11]

The indictment of the passage above is clear. It has everything to do with loss and suffering.

But men must understand that going "near the door of her house..." is not limited to the physical action it describes.

Look at verse 20 in chapter 5:

Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman? [Proverbs 5.20]

There is a problem with this verse... The problem is that the "fondle the breasts..." part carries a distracting shock-value that causes most of us to miss the first part of the verse that warns against the purely mental problem of being "captivated." The idea is conveyed that fondling the breasts of a woman is not limited purely to that act alone! It can accompany "captivation" but does not necessarily have to! "Captivation" can be a problem all by itself! Lust does not have to "act" to be sin!

What I am saying here is that the curses found in Proverbs 5.7-11 can apply to the man who lusts even if he does not act upon that lust!

It's best, as the writer of Proverbs claims, to "...go near the door of her house..." neither in physical reality nor in mental fantasy as both carry the same outcome.

Father, forgive me for ever being careless in my thoughts.