Today: Proverbs 5
On one level this chapter is about adultery and having the wisdom to run away from it. But adultery also represents disobeying God in any way. God’s Word is The Creator’s Guide to Living the Best Life Possible — life to the fullest. God’s Word does not restrict us, as many think. No, when we live life God’s way we have abundantly more freedom than we can imagine.
God has set boundaries for our behavior, because when we stray out of his boundaries we walk into all kinds of danger. There are things out there that will take us bondage and even lead to death. Our loving heavenly Father gave each of us free will and allows us to decide, but he gave us his Word to help us make the right decisions!
The verses that really stood out to me today are 12 and 13. After chasing after the adulterous woman (disobeying God’s Word), the person admits,
How I hated discipline! If only I had not demanded my own way! Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to those who gave me instruction?
Regrets. Demanding my own way rather than trusting God and going his way will always lead to eventual regrets. Yet, with repentance, our creative God can turn even those bad decisions into good for us and for his glory!
Of course, we could avoid those regrets in the first place by living a disciplined life, a life focused on living for God within the protective, life-giving, Eden-like boundaries he has set.
Look at the end of this chapter, verses 21-23. It must sadden God to see his children use their free will to go down their own paths that lead to captivity and ultimately to death. But as the loving Father that he is, he waits for us to repent and come back to him.
What do you think about this idea of God lovingly setting boundaries for our good? Do you see the Bible this way? Do you see God’s Word as giving freedom or holding you down?
