Stupid is as Stupid Does!

Proverbs 7; Proverbs 8; Proverbs 9; Romans 9
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Scripture

Proverbs 7

5 Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman,
from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.
6 While I was at the window of my house,
looking through the curtain,
7 I saw some naive young men,
and one in particular who lacked common sense.
8 He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman,
strolling down the path by her house.
9 It was at twilight, in the evening,
as deep darkness fell.
10 The woman approached him,
seductively dressed and sly of heart.
11 She was the brash, rebellious type,
never content to stay at home.
12 She is often in the streets and markets,
soliciting at every corner.
13 She threw her arms around him and kissed him,
and with a brazen look she said,
14 “I’ve just made my peace offerings
and fulfilled my vows.
15 You’re the one I was looking for!
I came out to find you, and here you are!
16 My bed is spread with beautiful blankets,
with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.
17 I’ve perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning.
Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,
19 for my husband is not home.
He’s away on a long trip.
20 He has taken a wallet full of money with him
and won’t return until later this month.”
21 So she seduced him with her pretty speech
and enticed him with her flattery.
22 He followed her at once,
like an ox going to the slaughter.
He was like a stag caught in a trap,
23 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.
24 So listen to me, my sons,
and pay attention to my words.
25 Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her.
Don’t wander down her wayward path.
26 For she has been the ruin of many;
many men have been her victims.
27 Her house is the road to the grave.
Her bedroom is the den of death.

Observation

We can’t let our guards down. Satan wants to destroy us and he will use someone to bring us down if we don’t set standards for ourselves and keep them. Do you have some standards or rules that you follow that keep you out of trouble with the opposite sex. Here are a few of mine:

I don’t travel in a car alone with a woman other than my wife. In an emergency I will transport a female but I always call my wife and let her know exactly where I am taking the person so she knows all about it. There has only been a couple of times when I have had to do this.

I don’t eat a meal alone with a woman other than my wife.

I won’t be in my office alone with a woman with the door closed (unless it is my wife)

…and I don’t even stay in the office building if it is only myself and another female staff person left in the building.

I won’t go inside the home of a woman if the husband is not at home or if she is by herself (I break this rule for 80 year olds).

I hug women carefully and avoid hugging the women that want to plaster themselves against me (unless it is my wife).

I don’t watch bedroom scenes on the television or Victoria Secret commercials no matter how silly that may seem to others.

I could go on with a few more rules/boundaries that I have set for myself but you get the idea.

If you don’t set boundaries and keep them then you are setting yourself up for a fall and for destruction. I have watched too many men of God fall because they let their guard down and let their hearts be led astray.

Application

I will guard my heart and not break the standards that I have set.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me to guard my heart and keep the commitments that I have made to You. Help me to keep myself pure and not yield to temptations when they come. Give me the words to say at the Memorial service for Pat Murphy today. Be with the family as they grieve and go through this time of loss. I pray that You be the God of all comfort and all compassion to them. Amen

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