Thoughts on Proverbs 5
“For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.”
Proverbs 5:3-4 ESV
http://bible.com/59/pro.5.3-4.esv
Temptation – by its very nature – is alluring, inviting, it looks good, tells you that it will make you feel good. Just a little closer, just a little compromise, it says.
Don’t. Just don’t. And when it calls, run the opposite direction. Run.
It never ends well. Since Adam, and all throughout the Bible, evident in your own experience as well as the experiences of others, we know that giving in will only mess up your life.
Falling (failing) is too easy, getting back up, not so much. And by the time you do, damage has been done. You have given precious time, honor, and strength, away.
What can you do? Aside of course from running away when it appears, because many times we don’t even notice that we are being tempted. Practice Discipline and Thanksgiving.
“and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.”
Proverbs 5:12-13 ESV
http://bible.com/59/pro.5.12-13.esv
Discipline is daily, minute by minute. Listen to the voice of the Teacher.
“Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth,”
Proverbs 5:18 ESV
http://bible.com/59/pro.5.18.esv
Look around you and count your blessings. Adam and Eve had the whole Garden, all around them, when they were tempted.