Proverbs 7:18-26: “Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,
for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip. He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month.”
Lord Jesus, this story text is so appropriate for a day in which one-night stands and sexual “hook ups” are as daily as pick-up lines in front of a fast-food restaurant. How did adultery become so harmlessly renamed “an affair,” or “a fling”?
As we pray our way through this Scripture, we’re not looking down at anyone critically. Rather, we’re looking up at you, owning our vulnerability and heeding your warning. Grant us fresh grace to take these things to heart.
So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery. He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap, awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.
Whether she or he is doing the seducing, the story is predictable and the end lamentable. Who of us doesn’t love to be noticed and desired? Even spouses in the happiest of marriages aren’t beyond acting foolishly. Season of loneliness, a moment of naiveté, or hurt-born revenge hold great power.
But though emotional affairs and sexual liaisons offer an elixir of pleasure, it’s never enough. And it always follows a familiar path: An ox to the slaughter, a stag with an arrow in its heart, a bird’s flight cut short by a trap. Many lives end up paying the deadly price of our temporary insanity.
So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words. Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path. For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims.
Jesus, the truth is, life is too short to have an affair—emotional, physical, or both. The deepest truth is, you are the Spouse we always wanted. Only in union with you can we find the fulfillment of our greatest longings—the intimacy and joy for which we have been created and redeemed. Renew and deepen our relationship with you, Lord, today and always. So very Amen we pray, in your loving and heart-pursuing name.
