How to Defeat Lust with Wisdom (Proverbs 7)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

How do I apply passages Proverbs 7 to my life?

This passage warns against the dangers of adultery and the temptation of seduction. It describes a young man who, lacking judgment, is seduced by a married woman. It illustrates the destructive consequences of succumbing to seduction, portraying it as a path to ruin and downfall.

In Proverbs 5, we looked at the importance of guarding against having an affair. So, in Proverbs 7, let’s adjust our approach and address the most pervasive form of adultery in marriages today—pornography. Over the past few decades, the sexual dynamics have changed. While people are still having physical affairs, many young people are opting for less sex^[1] and more porn consumption.

Porn is more prominent today than it’s ever been. According to Psychology Today, “the top-ranked pornography site, had 700,000,000 more total visits than Amazon and 900,000,000, 1,100,000,000, 1,300,000,000, 1,500,000,000, and 1,800,000,000 more total visits than TikTok, OpenAI, LinkedIn, Netflix, and The Weather Channel, respectively.”[2] Traditionally, many assumed these numbers were almost exclusively male-driven. But according to recent statistics, approximately 3 out of every ten women view porn,^[3] and this number continues to climb.

Factor in the rise of AI-related sexting apps, and the sexual lusts of today look very different than in Solomon’s age. Still, the basic admonition Solomon offered holds true when he writes in verses 4-5: ⁴ “Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call understanding your relative. ⁵ She will keep you from a forbidden woman, a wayward woman with her flattering talk.”

Then, after sharing the example of a prostitute who throws herself at a young man, Solomon gives these words:

²⁴ Now, sons, listen to me,
and pay attention to the words from my mouth.
²⁵ Don’t let your heart turn aside to her ways;
don’t stray onto her paths.
²⁶ For she has brought many down to death;
her victims are countless.
²⁷ Her house is the road to Sheol,
descending to the chambers of death.

Translation? Guard against all forms of sexual temptation at all costs. The cost is just too great.

A Meditation to PRAY

Praise | Lord, thank you that you have power over sin.

Release | I release my sexual temptations to you and ask you to reign over them.

Ask | Purify my heart, and keep my way pure.

Yield | I surrender my thoughts, the use of my devices, and my actions to you. Let nothing stand in the way of my relationship with you.

A Challenge to Act Like Christ  

When we read passages like Proverbs 7 through the lens of Jesus, we understand how to better apply them to our lives. In Matthew 5:27-28, Jesus says, ²⁷ “‘You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. ²⁸ But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’”

This means that adultery isn’t just the act of having an extramarital affair with another physical partner. Adultery starts in the heart. It’s making someone or something the object of our sexual pleasure at the expense of our spouse. It’s objectifying others instead of seeing them as God’s creation.

Adultery in any form is a tradeoff. It’s opting for heightening pleasure at the moment and choosing to pay an unfathomable interest rate in the future.

[1] Hannah Fry, "Young Adults Having Less Sex Than Their Parents and Grandparents, Studies Show," Los Angeles Times, last modified August 3, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-08-03/young-adults-less-sex-gen-z-millennials-generations-parents-grandparents.

[2] "How Much Porn Do Americans Really Watch?," Psychology Today, accessed January 6, 2024, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/everyone-on-top/202309/how-much-porn-do-americans-really-watch.

[3] "How Do Men and Women’s Porn Site Searches Differ?," Fight the New Drug, accessed January 6, 2024, https://fightthenewdrug.org/how-do-men-and-womens-porn-site-searches-differ/#:~:text=But%20regardless%2C%20according%20to%20this,60.2%25%20of%20women%20consume%20pornography.