Read
Wisdom and Sexual Purity
16Wisdom will protect you
from the smooth talk
of a sinful woman,
17who breaks her wedding vows
and leaves the man she married
when she was young.
18The road to her house leads
down
to the dark world
of the dead.
19Visit her, and you will never
find the road to life again.
Reflect
Marriage is a sacred thing, created by God. However, the natural physical urge to become one with your spouse, although created as good by God, has been bent and perverted into an inextinguishable lust in many of us. Wisdom reminds us not to be led astray by the allures of others and betray our vows to our husband or wife and God.
The picture is that of a woman seducing a man to come into her bed, all the while leading the poor soul down into Sheol, the realm of the dead. As the fool walks through the curtain trying to satisfy his lust, it ends up costing him his life.
How many marriages are destroyed today because of infidelity? How many hearts broken, and children weeping? Our culture tells us that we are merely animals, meant to gratify our sexual desires in whatever way we legally can. The Bible tells us that marriage means “the two become one flesh” and that we are to remain faithful to our partner for the remainder of our lives. In today’s day and age this is profoundly counter-cultural. To many it seems impossible, or worse yet, insane.
But this is the way we were made, and in pursuing extra-marital sex we cause so much damage: unwanted pregnancies, broken hearts, human trafficking, mind-altering pornography, and even murderous crimes of passion. A piece of ourselves binds with a sexual partner, we need to protect that with our spouse, otherwise death and darkness is looming.
The breaking of a vow is the breaking of community, and untold damage ensues despite the assurances of our music and movies. The sacred union of marriage is a treasure that protects our God-given sexuality and allows his Love to be shown to the world.
Respond
God who made sex and pleasure, you have given us marriage to understand what true unity and love looks like. Keep us from falling prey to the cravings of our flesh so that we can worship you with our bodies. In the name of God made flesh, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Cyril Guerette
Dr. Cyril Guerette is Lead Pastor of ForestView Church Without Walls in Oakville, ON. He also served for 10 years as a pastor in downtown Toronto. He holds a PhD (University of St. Michael’s College) and M.Phil (University of Cambridge) and serves as Associate Professor of Philosophy & Theology at Heritage College & Seminary. Cyril enjoys writing, taking walks, making hiphop music, playing with his children, and admiring the mixed-media photographic artwork of his wife, Maegan. Publications: Guerette, Cyril. Poetic/Dialectic: The Confluence of Poetry and Philosophy in St. Anselm’s Theology. Portland, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2017 (Forthcoming). Guerette, Cyril. “The Pastor as Poet”, in For Christ and His Church. Edited by Rick Reed. Kitchener-Waterloo, ON: Joshua Press, 2015. Guerette, Cyril. “An Appeal to Zeal”, in Letters to a Future Church: Words of Encouragement and Prophetic Appeals. Edited by Chris Lewis. Downer’s Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2012.