March 27 – Fidelity (Proverbs 6:20-29)

“Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.”(Proverbs 6:25)

IN WORD:
We may read over this verse too quickly. After all, prostitution does not seem to be a rampant problem in the contemporary church. There are certainly indiscretions among its members, and adultery is tragically more common than in the past. But for those to whom soliciting a prostitute is not a viable temptation, this verse and others like it. Ishtar often go unnoticed.
That is unfortunate. Why? Because there are deeper things at stake here than literal sexual immorality. Those who are wise know that the human heart is tempted by all sorts of adultery. Our opportunities for betraying the heart of our Lord are many in their number and diversity. When Solomon warns us against lusting after the beauty of another, he knows — and the Spirit behind the Scripture speaks — of thousands of lusts by which we are drawn away from God. Did we think this passage was only about wives and husbands? It is also about the marriage between the Son and His bride, the church. We cannot be captivated by another. Fidelity to our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, is paramount.

IN DEED:
What are your temptations? They do not have to be of a sexual nature to carry the warnings of this passage. Any infidelity of any kind to our God is dangerous business. He is a jealous God; the devastation of a damaged relationship with our Creator is far worse than the devastation of a beloved husband our wife having an affair with another love.
Is your relationship with God like a lovers’ union? If it isn’t, it falls short of the divine romance for which we were created. If it is, then you know the importance of commitment and the dangerous power of other lusts. Flee from them. Your Lover wants all of you to Himself.

“God did not call us to be successful, but to be faithful.”
-Mother Teresa-