Do not commit adultery! ...

Wednesday, July 22, 2015. We have been looking into the Proverbs of Salomon, the great and wise king. It is a fascinating book, full of practical wisdom which can help our life.

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Practical Advice …

The bible is giving us very practical advice in many places. In the book of Proverbs it is touching various layers of our business and personal decisions. Today, let us have a look into a passage which is about adultery. We are warned to stay away from adultery, its consequences are too severe.

The background of the biblical books is the faithfulness of the Lord. God is completely faithful, his love does not know fraud or even untruth. He does not let anyone down. In his light, unfaithfulness and betrayel becomes a severe event. But let us listen to the Proverbs first:

23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, 24 to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. 25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; 26 for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life.

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27 Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? 28 Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? 29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished. 30 People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, 31 but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house. 32 He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. 33 He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away. (Proverbs 6, 23-33)

Be smart …

The bible calls us to be smart. It might not be that easy. We tend to be in our own ways, tend to follow our desires and when you want something, you tend to ignore many warning signs.

Here, we are warned in a quite drastic manner. If you commit adultery, you pay with everything and you destroy yourself! That is a strong statement. You might find it overstating things. But when you see someone who does it, and then observe how destructive his behaviour is, you realize that the lines are completely true. I have seen two friends who were drawn into adultery. Both of them gave up their families, including several kids, to live with another women. Both of them are financially in severe trouble.

I am not sometimes unsure: does it really help someone who is tempted to hear these warnings? For some the warnings help, they work. Others seem to ignore them, they have not reached their heart and their mind. What can we do to be sensitive and open to the advice of the Lord, to let him reach uns completely and be our Lord on this very personal level as well? (RWEP) ... more texts