Prov 6:29 So is he who goes in to his neighbour’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.
Unfaithfulness is addressed here. Not just unfaithfulness though, but unfaithfulness that damages or destroys another marriage as well as your own.
As a pastor, I get to see first-hand the damage caused by infidelity and adultery. The years of emotional pain that people travel through, the loss of dreams, relationships, intimacy, and finances, as well as the spiritual battles that people face.
We hear of the deep regrets of the perpetrators, the unbearable pain of the injured. We support and care for people over the years as they rebuild their lives. Sometimes the pain is too great for people to bear and they find themselves for years attending psychologists, counsellors, or in a hospital ward. Often for years.
In all of these situations, we have observed that God is faithful. He is forgiving, restoring, and rebuilding people lives. It takes time, and for those caught up in the situation, it can seem to them like God is absent at times.
What starts as a glance, moves to a thought, then perhaps some flirting, and eventually, poor decisions are made. Best to not enter the glance stage. As Jesus said in Matt 5:28, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart”.
I love what Job says in Job 31:1, “I have made a covenant with my eyes, not to look lustfully at a young woman”.
God is a God of forgiveness certainly, but I also love Job’s intentionality, especially in today’s age of images and access, what a great spiritual attitude to daily remind ourselves. What covenant have you made with your eyes today?
KNOWLEDGE
Living by the Spirit as the bible talks about in Romans 8:13 is the way. The Spirit convicts us daily as we stay soft-hearted before God and open to correction. It’s God’s kindness that leads us to repentance (180 degrees change), and as it says in II Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death”.
Then again in Romans 2:4 we read “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance”.
Bible, Spirit, and community are at the heart of a healthy spiritual life. It’s good to self-audit and ask how we are travelling in those areas as a daily experience. Is the bible alive to us, do we hear regularly the whisper of the Holy Spirit, and are we surrounding ourselves daily with others who are sold out for Jesus?
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 Hebrew word for “unpunished” sounds like “naqah” and appears 44 times in the Old Testament. It carries the meaning of not being released, or not being pardoned. For example, the same word is used in Ex 20:7 where God talks about not holding someone “guiltless” when someone uses God’s name in vain.
WISDOM
Q – Do I understand the spiritual significance of marriage?
STRENGTHS THOUGHT: Belief – life is guided by a set of unchanging values that generate a life purpose. Choose these core values with wisdom.
Allan’s Unauthorised Version – [he who comes to his friends, associate or neighbour’s wife with the intention of touching her will not receive any pardon]
PRAYER: Father, thank you for today. Help me to set the course of my life to receive your values around relationships, and to have great wisdom in all the small decisions regarding the opposite sex.
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