For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life. Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished. — Proverbs 6:23-29

So now Solomon reveals the commandment he was alluding to in our previous devotional. And this is vital information for his son. This is not an attempt to demonize or demean women. The focus of this proverb is the protection of his son. And the thing Solomon wants to proactively protect is his son's heart. This is because Solomon knows the unseen affections of his son will be the hardest thing he will ever train. Often our desires are trained by life's mistakes. They are trained reactively. But Solomon doesn't want his son to learn this lesson the hard way. He wants him to be proactively prepared. So he tells his son these five essential things:

You will have strong sexual desires.
A particular woman may draw these out.
You may reason that the cost is minimal.
In the end, the cost is devastating.
When this happens, don't step closer to the flame of your desire; otherwise, you will get burned.

I love that Solomon is not having a typical "sex talk" with his son. Instead, he is talking about the specific unseen desires that lead to sexual sin. He explains how his son will experience these unseen desires and how a woman might draw them out. Thus the wisdom in his training is this — know the heat of your sexual desire and then don't get close to acting on it wrongly.

Gentlemen, this is the kind of training we need to give our sons. Training not just about right and wrong sexual behaviors and the effects of sexual sin. But about knowing and taming the heat of our unique sexual desires. Is it a challenging discussion? You bet it is. But isn't it wiser to prepare the son you love before he falls into sexual sin? Solomon thinks so, and he was pretty wise.

ASK THIS: What sin do you need to confess? Or, what conversation do you need to have? 

DO THIS: Confess sin. Or have the conversation.

PRAY THIS: God, forgive me for my sexual sin and those against which I have sinned. Give me the wisdom to share with others who can learn from my mistakes so that they might be wise and avoid the same mistakes as I.

PLAY THIS: Tenth Avenue North — Forgive Me.

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