No Detours

Read Proverbs 4:1-27

10. Listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life.
11. I will teach you wisdom’s ways and lead you in straight paths.
12. When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble.
13. Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life.
14. Don’t do as the wicked do, and don’t follow the path of evildoers.
15. Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way. Turn away and keep moving.
16. For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day. They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.
17. They eat the food of wickedness and drink the wine of violence!
18. The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.
19. But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over. Proverbs 4:10-19

The process of fending off temptation always involves a conversation with our feelings. You really don’t need this, you know. You just want it. But desires tug at the heart. If there were no enjoyment to be had, where would the struggle be?

Proverbs 4 has some instructions about affection—those feelings of love and desire. It’s about disciplining that part of the person that feels and desires the wrong pleasures (or the right ones at the wrong time). This is a difficult struggle—no one wants to go through life never doing what he or she enjoys. Read and learn.

Other areas of life covered in this chapter include lessons from parents; a goal that everyone should have; and the benefits of following wise advice and consequences of ignoring it.

Our affections can give us both pain and pleasure. On one hand, we can desire and enjoy good—such as wanting to help someone solve a problem or enjoying sexual pleasure in marriage. On the other hand, we can desire and enjoy what we shouldn’t—such as being lazy or enjoying sex outside of marriage. Our affections define what we enjoy, but what we enjoy isn’t always what we should do. Proverbs 4:23-27 tells us to guard these affections above all else, making sure we concentrate on those desires that will keep us on the right path.

Many people have the idea that God is against pleasure, but they are mistaken. He’s only against letting pleasure rule our lives. Living in obedience to God begins with knowing the difference between our wants and our needs—and then making the right choice regardless of the pleasure involved.