Proverbs 6:23-34
23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, 24 to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. 25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; 26 for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life. 27 Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? 28 Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? 29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished. 30 People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, 31 but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house. 32 He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. 33 He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away. 34 For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge.
One of the ironies of adultery is that in the attempt to gain something (illicit sex, passion, romance), we end up losing even more (marriage, family, money). The writer of Proverbs can objectively say that adultery makes no sense, for it destroys the person (verse 32). But the person in adultery often gets caught up in wishful thinking, ignoring the consequences. But one cannot walk on hot coals without being burned (verses 27-29), and we will get burned if we play around with the fires of adultery.
Lord, help me to realistically see the consequences of my behavior.
23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, 24 to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. 25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; 26 for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life. 27 Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? 28 Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? 29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished. 30 People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, 31 but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house. 32 He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. 33 He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away. 34 For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge.
One of the ironies of adultery is that in the attempt to gain something (illicit sex, passion, romance), we end up losing even more (marriage, family, money). The writer of Proverbs can objectively say that adultery makes no sense, for it destroys the person (verse 32). But the person in adultery often gets caught up in wishful thinking, ignoring the consequences. But one cannot walk on hot coals without being burned (verses 27-29), and we will get burned if we play around with the fires of adultery.
Lord, help me to realistically see the consequences of my behavior.