Read
7My son, listen to me
and do everything I say.
8Stay away from a bad woman!
Don't even go near the door
of her house.
9You will lose your self-respect
and end up in debt
to some cruel person
for the rest of your life.
10Strangers will get your money
and everything else
you have worked for.
11When it's all over,
your body will waste away,
as you groan 12and shout,
“I hated advice and correction!
13I paid no attention
to my teachers,
14and now I am disgraced
in front of everyone.”
Reflect
Regret can be a devastating and damaging thing to live with. The writer of these verses in Proverbs 5 is trying to keep his son from ending up in a place where he will be overwhelmed and ruined by it. The warning is clear — stay away!
We know from history as well as from even a cursory reading of the Bible that human beings are attracted to the very things from which we are warned away. Adam and Eve, David and Bathsheba, even the Hebrew nation as a whole, all are shown to be weak in resisting temptation. Anyone who is honest with themselves knows each and every one of us is prone to the same failings. Even the great apostle Paul expressed it as he cried out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
None of us is immune to temptation, but there is always a way to resist. Paul’s reply to himself is our great hope and salvation – “Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” No wonder Paul rejoices in knowing Christ. He is our only resource, the way out, the one who will not only help us avoid the traps of temptation and sin but will forgive us and lift us up when we fail.
Respond
Our heavenly Father, thank you that we can be assured of your help, your guidance and your unfailing mercy. Release us from the guilt of our sin as we turn to you for forgiveness. Amen.
Marcia Lee Laycock
Marcia Lee Laycock is an award-winning writer and sought-after speaker. Having lived a few kilometers from the Arctic Circle, and two degrees off the Equator, her writing draws from a rich field of experiences. Marcia was the winner of the Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone, and she now has four devotional books and a fantasy series in print, which have also garnered awards. Marcia lives in central Alberta with her pastor husband. They have three grown daughters and two huge Great Dane grand-puppies.