alone (Photo credit: dragonflaiii)

sometimes i get lost in the terminology when i read proverbs. today, as i meditated on the last part of proverbs 6 and chapter 7, i smiled.

sex gets our attention. don’t worry, i’m not going to be crude. however, marketers use sex to sell products all the time and people take notice. i heard a lovely lady once say that the Bible is quite racy.

well, Solomon wasn’t silly was he? he is attributed with being the wisest man who lived. i guess, he understood that if he really wanted to get the point across…we might just take notice if he compared foolishness to seduction. interesting.

i used to pretty much skip over the references cautioning the naive, young man about the flirtatious, seductive woman. don’t get me wrong, it is incredibly accurate wisdom. even in a very literal sense, this advice is highly valuable.

then i noticed an interesting pattern. an emphasis was presented on wisdom and the benefits of gathering it, searching for it and holding it close within the heart. following this emphasis came the cautions about the seductive woman and how destructive being enticed was to life. my conclusion is that wisdom is taught and calls out to us to make wise choices. in contrast, foolishness is seductive, sly and cunning – enticing us to make unwise choices.

when i think about it, this makes perfect sense. let me show you what i mean. as you read, remember these decriptions are literally wisdom concerning the path one will find if they decided to cheat on their spouse, or with a friend’s spouse. it’s not a pretty picture. however, the metaphor is there and fits for making unwise or foolish choices.

(Photo credit:Seductive woman with luscious red lips on bed. Flickr.com)
the scene is set as an empty-headed and empty-hearted young man saunters down the street in the darkness of night (proverbs 7). he comes upon a woman who cunningly speaks with flattery; offering adventure.

• the darkest hours of your life is when you consider and entertain the idea of cunning, sly, and deceptive choices.
• the amplified version describes this young man as empty-headed and empty-hearted. wisdom keeps advising you to fill your heart and mind with wise principles so that they are close at hand when they are needed. obviously, when the heart and mind are empty, you don’t make your best decisions.
• the woman entices the young man with flattering words and adventurous ideas. sorry, guys, but a woman knows how to empty a man’s heart and she knows how to fill it, as well. when the heart is empty-(you can fill in the blanks because deep in your heart you know the extent you have been willing to go attempting to fill it).
• learning, gathering and applying wisdom takes purposeful action. non-action leads you to a state of mind that is void of good sense.

the woman reasons, comforts, and appeals to the young man’s senses. she justifies the offer with reassurance that everything is in place for no consequences to be suffered. she persuades him to overcome his conscience and fears. she allures him visually and sensually to give in to his inflamed passion for relief.

• your natural instincts for comfort and escape are powerful.

reluctant at first, the young man yields as if he were being forced because his loins and passions have been set aflame.

• there is always a point of no return. you may know that a choice is not wise but if you entertain it long enough-weighing the risk against escape, you yield to a moment as if you have no choice in the matter. this occurs when we are not equipped.

what he did not realize was that he was not her first victim. she had led a host of men down a deadly path. a path that would cost him his life.

the cost is described earlier in the metaphor:

• he becomes tortured by the consequences.
• he is not innocent and there is punishment that is eventually paid.
• he gets wounded and disgraced.
• the reproach sticks.
• no amount of begging, bribing or attempting to buy his way out of the situation will reverse the consequences.
• the situation cost him his life. before he knows what hit him – he is overtaken with anguish. he will be sitting with his head in his hands wondering what in the world brought him to such a dark place in his life.

i have never walked this pain as a result of being unfaithful to my husband. however, i have walked this path as a result of being unfaithful to wisdom. i can’t even describe to you the panic, torment and pain that my heart experienced. i might not need to because you might be able to relate. when facing the consequences of a foolish choice, i have done my share of bargaining with God and others – if i could just be rescued from my foolishness i would learn my lesson and do things differently…”please, just give me a second chance!”

the moral to this story? yes, there is one. you and i have choices to make. there are wise choices. they require effort, preparation and determination. there are unwise choices, as well. they come to you cunningly, in the dark and appear to be a more pleasurable, alluring, easier choice…but they bite hard.

…Bind them continually upon your heart …

When you go, they shall lead you; when you sleep, they shall keep you; and when you waken, they shall talk with you.

For the commandment is a lamp, and the whole teaching [of the law] is light, and reproofs of discipline are the way of life, -Proverbs

sometimes life is difficult and can become dark. it doesn’t have to be. the choice is mine to make…and it is yours to make as well.

this is the follow-up post from Monday’s post on proverbs 6 concerning preparation. i do hope you have enjoyed them both.

thanks for reading,

D