“Keep your way far from her. Don’t go near the door of her house.” (Proverbs 5:8)
If you’re entertaining the thought about someone you shouldn’t be, the writer of Proverbs is telling you, “Stop it now, before it’s too late.” Wisdom calls out to you and says, “It’s not worth it!” This is the wisdom from today’s passage.
Just ask any husband or wife who was regrettably led away by their sinful desires. Ask them about how it played out for them, and for their children, for their spouse, the life they once had. The Proverbs writer thankfully warns us about the horrific aftermath about what happens when a person doesn’t listen to his words to “Keep your way far from her. Don’t go near the door of her house” (5:8).
Sin is incredibly attractive at first. This is what gives sin its power, its facade of beauty (5:3). Your sinful desires are constantly playing tricks on your eyes to make you think that that person (or website) is better than who or what God has already given you. Each time you give in (even just a little), sin’s seduction gets stronger and stronger. And so that’s why the Proverbs writer says, “Keep your way far from her [or him]” (5:8). You’re not strong enough! In fact, if you think you are, then you’ve already lost the war. That is why Paul warned the puffed up Corinthian believers “whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). Don’t even chance it. You’re not strong enough.
So here’s some practical wisdom from today’s Proverbs—if you’re starting to have thoughts about another person that you shouldn’t be, or you’ve already gone past that, confess it immediately to another brother or sister who you trust. Ask them to keep you accountable and pray to God with you, to change your heart. You’re not meant to fight sin alone. In the remainder of 1 Corinthians 10:13, Paul encourages us with this sin-liberating truth, “No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.” God loves you so much that he wants to save you from sin’s destructive effects. Listen to him and take his way out now.