Read
20An unfaithful wife says,
“Sleeping with another man
is as natural as eating.”
Reflect
There is a striking contrast between this verse and the last line of the previous verse (verse 19), where the love between a man and a woman is presented as a mysterious path. Certainly no mystery here, no wonderment, no commitment, no pleasure and in addition, no admission of guilt. In fact, this extra-marital affair is looked upon as a meal, as a lunch, if you will, taken on the run.
This proverb speaks to our present day reality, to our trivialization of sex and to sexual behaviour in our society. Sex is used more than any other means to sell any and every imaginable product: clothes, beauty products, food, etc. The internet has discreetly facilitated the accessibility to pornography that nourishes this coarse vulgarization of sex in society. How contemporary is the last part of our verse where it says, “I have done no wrong!”
We live in an environment that promotes and capitalizes on making illicit sexual behaviour seductive. As if that weren’t enough, this same society shamefully focuses on reformulating our minds so that we can adapt to its “normal” and even “commendable” mindset! Society tells us repeatedly, “Do as you please; get rid of your inihibitions”. Who has not seen the pain, the suffering and the families destroyed by this way of thinking?
The true promise of happiness and satisfaction given by the Lord is found in an attitude of purity. Our challenge is to love our spouse and our family in the same way that we’re asked to love the Lord God, and that is with all our heart, our mind and with all our being. There we find the marvel of the relationship that God foresaw for couples.
Respond
Lord, I want to thank you with all my heart for my family and the person that you placed by my side to accompany me all the days of my life. Lord Jesus, from my relationship with you, I want to draw the strength to be upright and to be loving toward my family. Amen.
Donald Tardif
Donald has worked as a custom broker and international freight forwarder. His Biblical training was with L’Institut Biblique du Québec. In 2006, he took an early retirement and assumed the leadership of La Ligue pour la lecture de la Bible in Quebec, after having been on the board of directors for a few years. He retired from Laligue pour la lecture de la Bible in 2017. Donald is married to Jeannine and they have 3 adult children and 8 grandchildren.