Guard Yourself from the “Adulteress”

Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and to insight, “You are my relative.”
They will keep you from the adulterous woman,
from the wayward woman with her seductive words.

Proverbs 7:5–6 NIV

The “adulteress” symbolizes sexual temptation in the book of Proverbs. However, we can also translate it as the “foreign woman.”

This means she is someone (or something) with a different values system, different gods, and different allegiances.

Not simply different, but at odds with ours as God’s people.

It’s not a stretch to say our commitments—and who we allow to influence us—should be closely watched.

Here are three questions to ask to do this:

1. Who do you trust for truth? What agenda might they have for you contrary to God’s?
2. Who (or what) are you prone to compromise your values or godly goals for? How 
3. What people or things drag you back into actions and habits misaligned with God’s wisdom? How can you cut yourself off from these?

In Proverbs 7:2 we’re told to keep God’s teaching as the “apple of our eye.” This means it is so close you can see its reflection in your eyes. We are face to face and intimately close.

How close is God’s wisdom to you? How hard do you seek it? What is your appetite to follow it instead of the “adulteress”?