My Bible Journey (Proverbs 5)

I read Proverbs 5 recently. Wow! What a chapter!? This is a chapter written for every guy. But oddly enough it is a chapter set in the midst of a father speaking to his son.

You might think that a bit condescending. We men don't like to be treated like a child. We don't like to be told what we ought to do. But the reality is...more often than not, we act like a child.

We are selfish, vain, conceited, lust-gratifiers...and, in my opinion, speaking to men like children is absolutely appropriate...especially in respect of this issue of lust.

Me and my accountability partner speak of the issue of lust in terms of "being in the swamp." When we give into it...when we let our eyes wander or let the late-night remote haphazardly change channels...then it is like we dive off the end of a dock over a swamp.

The water on the surface may look appealing but it is very shallow. The water is on the surface of sticky, slimy, stinky mud. And once you are in that mud it is hard to wallow out of it. It grabs a hold of you and drags you down.

But there are other issues in the swamp as well. There are leaches that drain you. And you can't get them all off by yourself.

That's why once you get out of the swamp, you need to be hosed down and you need the help of someone else to pull off all the leaches.

Honestly, I've been in that swamp many times. I try to avoid it as much as I can, but every once in a while...like a foolish child...I will dive into the murky waters again thinking it might be different this time. It never is.

That's why I love the honesty of this chapter in Proverbs 5. And there is a very good message for a little child like myself in relation to the issue of lust. Verse 21 says that all I do is seen by the Lord. I need to always remember that.

And it is a very significant help to have an accountability partner...someone with whom you are completely honest with to share any struggles you may or may not be having.

Now I feel a need to convince you, like a child would, that this isn't a gigantic struggle in my life. I will say it isn't the battle it used to be. But it is something that I believe is a struggle for every man (child). And we need to heed the words of Proverbs 5 or we are always going to be stuck in the mud of the swamp, covered in leaches.