2020-4-17

Proverbs 6:1-35;  7:1-27

Proverbs 6 tells us not to be a guarantor, not to be  a lazy person and wicked people reap bad endings. It also talks about six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him. Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into7 evil, a false witness who pours out lies, a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. At the end of chapter 6, it warns us about adultery especially not having adultery with someone’s wife.

The world tells us you can take advantage of someone to achieve your goals. Work smart instead of work hard. We still see wicked people enjoy lives. We know the Bible teaches us not to be conformed by the world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. I remember C.S. Lewis once said “ You don’t have a soul, you are a soul and you have a body”. We do a lot of things to satisfy our mortal body. We do not do enough to satisfy our soul. By renewing our mind is to feed on the words of God. It  strengthens our souls so that we can see everything else in the world clearly. Fame, money and sex satisfy our mortal body, but not our true being, a soul.

The writing of Chapter 7 is like a soap opera’s script. It describes a young man fall into a sex trap. The setting is perfect. He is alone. It happens at twilight when no one will see him. A woman dressed like a prostitute kisses him to lurk him to her house. Her husband was on a business trip and would not be back for a long time. The young man became one of the victims, leading down to the chambers of death. In the beginning of chapter 7, King Solomon already warned his son: Say to wisdom, “you are my sister,” and call understanding your kinsman; they will keep you from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words. The antidote for adultery is to indulge ourselves with the word of God. It is easier said than done. Therefore, we are not going to the Bible only when we face temptation. We read His word daily to build up our immunity to sexual temptation. To take further preventive measures,  we should avoid setting ourselves up to allow sexual temptation entering our hearts. Flipping hotel television’s remote control, sharing personal/family issues with opposite sex co-workers and surfing the internet aimlessly are some of the ways we invite sexual temptations into our hearts.

I pray that God will liberate us from temptations. Give us a friend that we can share our burden with.
“A woman’s heart should be so close to God, a man should have to chase Him to find her.”  C.S. Lewis              —- Alan Yam