Proverbs 6:25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
There is such a warning here building up from verse twenty where we are given the prescription for a successful life.
I have seen so many men make choices at the moment for short term pleasures, that have then taken their toll in the years to come. Their choices have also led at times to addictions and destructive behaviour.
God is always a God of rescue. Don’t for a second think that the hard times you are going through are sent from God to punish you, that’s not how God interacts with us. The hard times can be from our own choices or even just because we live in a broken world.
Equally when we are the victim of poor choices and then we make a poor choice to hold on to unforgiveness, anger, offence, hurt, or bitterness…..we think we are holding on to these emotions, but in reality, they begin to hold us. We who try to imprison another with our attitude are in a prison of our own hands.
Let’s lay it all on the alter today, bring it all to the foot of the cross and lay our burdens down? Whether we made the mistake or face the consequences of another’s actions, let’s lay down everything that is stopping us from being close to God and each other.
Let the grace, mercy, and forgiveness that has flowed to us, flow through us.
KNOWLEDGE
It’s our appetites that often lead us into difficulties. We are not feeling satisfied, maybe we are bored or distracted. We make short term decisions that impact our long term well-being.
It’s incremental, starts with a glance, a passing thought, an emotion. It does not seem dangerous then. If we entertain these thoughts they lead to the path of destruction and despair. Does that sound gloomy, and awful? Take the warning to heart this morning and allow God to save you from rather and out of.
If we are caught up in love with Jesus, then there is no room for other things to get into our vision, our thinking, and finally our heart.
We know our weak spots, we know our weak times, and we know our vulnerabilities. Earlier in Prov 4:23, we were told by the writer to “guard our heart”. I think this scripture is an echo of that one.
Stay alert, be aware, there is an enemy to your soul who would take any opportunity to devour you and see your life in ruins.
UNDERSTANDING
Let’s pick one word from this verse to look closer at and see if that can help us gain a deeper insight into how God would love us to live?
The word for “beauty” in Hebrew is pronounced as “yopiy” and this word appears 19 times in the Old Testament. In the ESV it is translated into English as, “beauty” every time.
This word is really focused on physical beauty and often is associated with an aspect of pride and vanity.
WISDOM – what is my heart looking for today?
STRENGTHS THOUGHT: Strategic, understands the options available, purposely spends time in key relationships and stays open to new understanding.
Allan’s Unauthorised Version – [do not lust or covert her beauty with your thoughts and emotions, and do not let the audacity of her glances take you.]
PRAYER: Father, thank you for today. Help me to keep my eyes on you, and heed the warnings you provide. Thank you.
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