Proverbs: Chapter 7:

Chapter 7: Warning Against the Adulteress:

Ica Oasis | Ica, Peru 

This is where I need you to focus on wisdom and fight off the evil thoughts within your mind. Do not be led astray by a mere thought that takes your focus from the truth within a situation. Don't allow your glances to be acted on or your imagination to run away from you, reality will set in quickly if you allow your thoughts to press on. Cut them off before they become more than a thought, do not give in to the question in your mind. Be wise and seek wisdom as if she were your sister and grow close to insight. All of this I tell you so that you will stay away from a married woman. Do not lack common sense, she is married, do not betray the covenant of marriage, it will harm you more than you know. Be wary of the night and what it can bring, the light of day shines and shows our actions for what they are, all is seen by day. But, at night, we veil ourselves in the shadows and can give into temptations because we believe they are not seen, even though they are. Seeking out a woman of the night is akin to walking blindly through a forest, you believe you can avoid being seen and no one will know you are there, but there is always evidence of shame (broken twigs, the sound of rustling leaves, animals that are spooked by you) and these will show in the coming day.

Don't Follow Her:

She knows how to tempt you, she knows what you will like, and she will seduce you. She is a temptress and she is prepared. She will seek you out, regardless of where you are, and invite you to her home. She will seize you and kiss you, knowing what it will do to your mind as your body is filled with a rush of blood and excitement. She is plotting to get you into a quiet place, draw you into her home, then her job is complete. She will prepare the way by setting the mood with pleasant talk and showering compliments on you, she will tease you with garments of lace and cover herself in perfume that will be inhaled through your body and entice you to be closer to her. She will arouse you with comfort and touching that will surely make you give in to her. She will tell you her husband is gone and won't be back for a long time and share a story about how he doesn't satisfy her love, but you can. She will speak of her bed and how it is prepared for you, covered with the finest and softest linens, this is all a part of the game she plays. She will tell you that she has confessed all her sins and she is wiped clean, but you will not see her seduction tactic, she's saying that she can be forgiven regardless of what she does, it only takes her providing sacrifices the next day. She will use seductive speech and persuade you to lay with her, even though you know it is wrong, it won't seem wrong to you in that moment. Unfortunately, you will more than likely give in and be led to the slaughter and sleep with this woman. This doesn't happen in an instant. It is a step-by-step slow process that starts with merely a thought of insecurity, which is then overridden by her eyes being drawn towards you, that gives you confidence in yourself and engages your eyes to look at her in lust or love. Even though you find out she is married, you might seek to get one small thing about how her husband doesn't treat her well, that is all the justification you will need, your mind will run with that and turn the husband into a monster and then you will justify your sleeping with her as an act of love for a woman who is unloved. "If only he treated her the way she should be treated" you will say, and the adulteress will continue the fantasy by saying: "if only my husband looked at me the way you do" and then you are already stuck and in a place that will cause pain. Do not allow your heart to be drawn towards such women, it will only lead you down to the chambers of death. 

I cannot speak to having an affair from personal experience, I know that I prepare my heart in hopes that I would never do such a thing. But, I am only a few thoughts, perhaps a week of depression, a few moments of weakness, and not trusting in the Lord from having something like this happen. Just as anything great is possible through Christ, anything terrible is possible when I choose to rely on my own strength in life. We are all capable of terrible and unimaginable things if we don't put our focus on Christ, this is the reality of a fallen world. Anytime we stray from the Lord and attempt to go out into the world on our own, we are bound to fall. I know that I fall every day with different things and I am striving to be closer to Christ! Be on your guard and don't believe the lie that "it is just a thought, nothing more" or "it is just porn, nothing serious." It is serious! We are molding our minds and bending our hearts towards lust and we need to try to fight these things as best we can through relying on Christ to direct us and taking tangible steps of recovery. Do not be prideful in these things, be vulnerable. Do not allow the grip of sin to rule over your life. You are forgiven and free! 

Dear Lord, I pray that you would keep me from the seductress woman and shield my eyes from lust. Do not allow me to be tempted by her. Allow me to be free in you and seek only things that will stir my affection for you. Break me free from the chains of lusting after women and allow me to have renewed eyes through your love. Save me from me. Amen. 

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