Proverbs 5
Proverbs 5:1-23 (NLT)
1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel.
2 Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you’ve learned.
3 For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil.
4 But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.
6 For she cares nothing about the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it.
7 So now, my sons, listen to me. Never stray from what I am about to say:
8 Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house!
9 If you do, you will lose your honor and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved.
10 Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor.
11 In the end you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all the warnings!
13 Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?
14 I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace.”
15 Drink water from your own well—share your love only with your wife.
16 Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone?
17 You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers.
18 Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.
20 Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman?
21 For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.
22 An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.
23 He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.
There is a base discipline in the area of sensuality that, if not dealt with in youth, has the potential of opening doors to many other areas of compromise that all have their own degrading and destructive influence. As the relationship between a man and woman in marriage has the tremendous potential for reward and pleasure, it will be subject to the greatest remorse, disappointment, and destruction when warnings against wandering gratifications go unheeded. Simple humility and obedience in this one area of wisdom have the promise of benefit and blessing throughout all other aspects of life. Treasuring, preserving, and embracing the precious partner He’s provided for physical, emotional, and spiritual enhancement is so much better than any momentary relinquishing of the purity that establishes the heart in confident, life-empowering belief.