The beginning of Proverbs 5 reminds me right away of the theme we have seen in the last few chapters: seeking wisdom.
While sin is seductive and even easy to come by, it’s a path toward death and destruction. Sin will never bring life, nor will it leave you feeling satisfied. While wisdom may require hard work to seek out, and it may be a hard choice, it will always bring life. Living with wisdom will bring peace and fulfillment. It’s the path to life! This chapter explained this concept with the sin of lust, specifically adultery. Solomon warns of the appeal of sin (which will bring ruin *Vs 7-14), and the wise alternative to sexual sin, sexual satisfaction in marriage. (Vs15-19)
God wants us to enjoy sex, but He created it with purpose. He created it for a specific purpose, to bond a husband and wife for 80 years. It’s glue and messing with Gods glue before marriage will always bring ruin. Often, sin is using or abusing something that God created for a specific purpose and twisting it into a counterfeit version of the real thing.
Sex outside of marriage is a counterfeit sex.
It’s not the real thing. You aren’t experiencing the true blessing that is sex in the way God created it to be. You are missing out on the real thing.
We can also apply this same concept to many other sins in our lives.
Gossip.
God intended for us to talk about Him and spread His word, making Him known. He intended for us to talk to others to encourage them and build them up, as stated in Hebrews 10:24 "Spur one another on towards love and good deeds". But instead, we spread negative messages and reveal other people's secrets.
Greed.
God designed us to be desperate for Him and the things of heaven. He gave us a desire for more of Him. But instead, we set our longings on things of the earth and allow ourselves to have a desire for wealth and material things.
Laziness
God gave us the gift of resting in Him, which will recharge us and make us more productive when we work. But instead, we overindulge ourselves and become slothful or lazy, which often drains us further and makes it harder to recharge and reactivate.
Gluttony
God gave us good food to enjoy and fuel our bodies, but instead, we overindulge, and our food makes us sick and causes us to gain too much weight.
Don't settle for the counterfeit. Seek out wisdom to choose the one that brings life.