Web Theologian

>7 And now, O sons, listen to me,
and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep your way far from her,
and do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your honor to others
and your years to the merciless,
10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,
11 and at the end of your life you groan,
when your flesh and body are consumed,
12 and you say, “How I hated discipline,
and my heart despised reproof!
13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
or incline my ear to my instructors.
14 I am at the brink of utter ruin
in the assembled congregation.”

You have limited resources use them well. Other women, other loves, things outside of what God has given you are a waste to spend your energy on. All it does is help people prosper who shouldn’t be. Discipline brings about focus on the correct things.

Just yesterday Guy cited a study that said the human mind is in limited supply of our capacity to use self discipline, therefore when we do it in one area often times we let other area slack. Boy does that sound like the was sin works in me. I get ‘control’ in one area of my life just to turn around and see other plates falling to the ground. That is why it is not in our own strength we do these this but rely on the strength God has given us through Holy Ghost. It is rough when you get together with everyone and just feel wasted because you have nothing left.

>5:1 My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
incline your ear to my understanding,
2 that you may keep discretion,
and your lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil,
4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps follow the path to Sheol;
6 she does not ponder the path of life;
her ways wander, and she does not know it.

How many times does the book of Proverbs have to tell young men not to commit adultery? As many times as it takes for them to get it. Obviously this is an important point to hit home, otherwise this book on what makes sense about life would not talk about it.

Discretion is under-rated these days. I love bathroom humor, and stand up comedy. But I don’t listen to Steven Wright enough. Think about how cool it is when you are with friends, everyones talking and your spouses gives you the little eye that no one else notices. I know there are times for passion and swinging from the chandelier , but a discrete look can change my mind as well.

The temptation of uncommitted (by uncommitted I’m referring to the marriage commitment) sex is that it is exciting, and sounds real good. Honey and oil are prized, yet in the end you are left “Eating Bitter” as they say in China. The hard road for some fun, and it is a life that leads to death.

God can use all circumstances for his glory. That’s the point of it all. Karin and I often say with that there are two paths, the one that might mean sacrifice in the short run but leads to a better future, or the immediate which leads to a hard road.