Proverbs 6:23 For this command is a lamp,
    this teaching is a light,
and correction and instruction
    are the way to life.

This verse is certainly true, but what is striking is that what follows is a very clear warning not to be seduced by a married woman. The reason it is so striking is that Proverbs is supposedly largely the work of Solomon, with wise sayings of a few other people added, and Solomon’s own mother was married to Uriah at the point that she was first bedded by David. Of course, as the king in an absolute monarchy, David could take what he wanted, but there is the very real question of entrapment, when Bathsheba was bathing on her roof in view of the king’s promenade on the roof of the palace next door. I know of Christian women who are terribly offended by even the suggestion of the possibility of such a thing, but the fact remains that, with the exception of outright rape, there is always some degree of mutuality in such relationships. Society is so twisted today that there are otherwise respectable women who proudly parade their “body count,” and proclaim their “liberation.” That is actually very sad, but such people don’t recognize what and how much the devil has stolen from them with his lies. When God made mankind, and indeed the whole animal world, he had to make procreation enjoyable, or everything would have died out. He created hormones and sex drive and said, “Go forth and multiply.” However, with mankind he set various boundaries, and we cross those to our loss. God specified monogamous marriage for mankind because, as Paul famously explains in Ephesians 5, the marital relationship is in a number of ways a picture of the relationship between Christ and the Church, God and His people. That’s precisely why the devil works so hard to dirty things up, and he has succeeded to a tragic degree. Today, America has a whole political party that makes abortion the major plank of their platform, so that people can have “consequence free” sex. There is no such thing. Regardless of procreation, the act of coitus always has consequences, either cementing and deepening the relationship between a husband and wife, or cheapening and degrading both participants.

I’m very grateful not to have been trapped by this sort of thing, but I’ve had some close calls. I also have friends who have been tripped up, with sad consequences. Men are generally seen as the sexual aggressor, but just as Solomon wrote, the reverse can equally be true. This is in no way a new problem, as is clear from Solomon having written about it 3000 years ago! However, the solution, for me and for everyone else, is to listen to what God has said about it and follow that, knowing that God always has our best interest at heart. And He is certainly not a “spoil-sport,” not wanting us to have any fun. After 55 years of marriage, I can definitely testify to that!

Father, thank You for the gift of sex. Help all of Your children discern the lies and walk in Your truth, in holiness and joy, so that those who are deceived may have their eyes opened to escape the devil’s traps, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!