READ TOGETHER
Proverbs 9:14-17. 14She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, 15calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, 16“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense she says, 17“Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
It’s hard to tell if Solomon is using the imagery of a prostitute here to make a point about all foolishness, or if he is directly warning against sexual sin. Either way we can heed the warning.
Folly is constantly calling out to us, trying desperately to get us to turn aside from the path of righteousness and follow her path of destruction instead. In Solomon’s day, harlots didn’t hide. They couldn’t. To make their money they had to seduce their customers, calling out to them from the door of their house or from the high places of the town. “Turn in here, I am sweet and pleasant.”
Many, if not most, other sins can sneak up on us. Covetousness, pride, greed, these can take root in the heart and go unnoticed for long periods of time. But lust and sexual sin are much more brazen. A person can commit many sins without even being aware, but sexual sin isn’t one of those kinds of sin. No one commits adultery without knowing it. No one fornicates without a plan to do so. No one unknowingly spends hours looking at pornography. No one reads an entire sexual fantasy novel by accident.
So what makes the victims of sexual sin simple? It’s not that they don’t know what they’re doing. Miss Folly’s victim is simple because they think they can get away with it. They think that the sweetness of the sin will outlast the sin itself. But anyone who has committed sexual sin knows that as soon as the sin is over the aftertaste is never sweet. Why? Because they ate what was not theirs to eat. Like Adam in the Garden, guilt and shame now overwhelm the senses. Hiding is the only remedy, covering up is the only recourse.
By contrast, Christ in us offers us what Miss Folly can never deliver. Eternal love. Eternal peace. Eternal joy. Eternal pleasure.
Of course, this is much easier said than believed. But it is the only real way to experience victory over sexual temptation in any lasting way, but also in a way that doesn’t invite in other sins. Sure, anyone can defeat temptation with pride – I would never stoop to that level. Or fear – God will punish me if I give in to this temptation. But to resist temptation, especially sexual temptation, using simply the gospel of Christ requires cultivating such a deep love and trust within the real presence of Jesus that it actually satisfies you more deeply and fully than any sexual sin ever could. Until you can see turning to Jesus as being more pleasurable than turning to Miss Folly and her sexual delights, the struggle will always be far too close for comfort.
Psalm 16:11. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
You: In what ways have you fallen into the trap of sexual sin?
You in Christ: How does union with Christ and his love allow us to keep moving past the invitations of Miss Folly?
Christ in you: Is there a specific change in your sexual behavior that Jesus is nudging you to make today?
Pray: Jesus, be my greatest joy and pleasure, and keep my heart from wandering from God. Amen.
To Live is Christ 