×

Life is Short: DON’T Have An Affair: Praying through 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.”

     Dear 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 an elementary school. How did adultery become so harmlessly renamed “an affair” or “a fling”?

Jesus, as I meditate on and pray my way through this Scripture, I’m not sitting up on my critical hobby horse, looking down at anyone; but rather, I’m sitting down and looking up at you, owning my own vulnerability and heeding your warning. Grant me and my praying community 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.

     Jesus, whether it’s a she or he doing the seducing, the story is predictable and the end is lamentable. Who of us doesn’t love to be noticed and wanted, desired and delighted in? Even spouses completely happy and thoroughly fulfilled in the best of marriages aren’t beyond acting out foolishly and destructively—whether in a season of lonely longings, a moment of unguarded naiveté, or the posture and get-even-anger or I’ll-hurt-you-retaliation.

But though emotional affairs and sexual liaisons offer a season of pleasure, it’s never a long season, 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 truth is, you are the Spouse we always wanted. Only in union and vital communion with you will we find what we’ve been looking for and longing for—the intimacy and joy, for which we have been created and redeemed. We believe; help our unbelief, Jesus. So very Amen we pray, in your loving and heart-pursuing name.

LOAD MORE
Loading