Pitfalls of Immorality
5 My son, give attention to my wisdom,
Incline your ear to my understanding;
2 That you may observe discretion
And your lips may reserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of an [a]adulteress drip honey
And smoother than oil is her [b]speech;
4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death,
Her steps take hold of Sheol.
6 [c]She does not ponder the path of life;
Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.
This last verse caught my eye, as Solomon speaks of the adulteress. “Her ways are unstable…” is similar to James speaking of the double-minded man, who is “unstable in all his ways.” It makes sense after all, for here Solomon speaks of a woman who cannot commit to one man and is double-minded (or worse). So too is any man who falls for her smooth talk, and both of them are on a path of destruction.
As obvious as the pit may be, it isn’t obvious to those in the trap. Solomon notes, “she does not know it.” Besides, this is but one snare in which our flesh is prone to tread. Sure, stay away from adultery, commit to your husband or wife, and do not let your eyes wander. But what about our wandering eyes in other areas?
Like Charlie Brown, we can all be wishy-washy when it comes to following God. That was the discretion and understanding Solomon spoke of, that we need to fix our eyes on one only. And James put it even more plainly, “If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God… without doubting.” To paraphrase, “the one who doubts will be driven by the wind on the sea.”
Have you seen the things they wind drives? They go here, there, and everywhere. It always seems the wind is swirling as it goes one way, and then another, and you never know where it will end up. Well, Solomon did us a favor, and told us where this wind blows: “down to death”, and to Sheol.
Nothing good comes of being double-minded, we need something to hold us steady in the gale force winds that rage on the sea of life. Good news, Jesus is our rock, the Cornerstone, upon which we can depend. On our own, I’m not too sure we could stay the course.
In fact, Paul told the Romans in no uncertain terms that we cannot. To that end, fix your gaze on Jesus, come Hell or high water, He will not let you go. For God “gives (wisdom) to all generously and without reproach.” So that “the testing of your faith will produce endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”