March 31

Mar 31 - Today we read from Proverbs 31 verses 3 & 10
"Do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies."

I would like to cite a few passages from the New Testament, which serve to challenge our thinking on these verses:
"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." -Jesus, Mark 10:6-9
"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit." - 1 Cor. 6:15-17
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." - Eph. 5:32, 33
"Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money." - 1 Tim. 3:2, 3
By thinking through the content and truths of these passages, all from the New Testament, there is no 'wiggle room' for marital infidelity – including same-sex ‘marriages’. According to the scriptures, such activity is clearly in violation of God's moral law, His natural law, and His greater plans and purposes for humanity. On an even deeper level, any believer engaged in extra-marital sexual activity is actually guilty of engaging a member of Christ in an immoral act! Lord, have mercy! There is beauty and intimate pleasure in the sexual act, which goes beyond physical gratification. We can see from these passages that there is profound mystery attached to this activity which God meant to be kept in the confines of matrimony. When a person engages in sexual activity we actually use the term 'give yourself to another'. Once given, it cannot be taken back. When a man who has had sexual encounters with other women gets into bed with his wife, he takes every woman he has ever slept with into that bed with them - and visa-versa. What a sobering thought!
A wise and concerned mother wrote today’s proverb to her son, who was being groomed for kingship. She also wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Wisdom understands that sexual infidelity is a destructive force, and that finding the right mate for life is one of the most valuable choices a person can make in this life. Too bad that our generation today is so 'enlightened'. They are trading 'rubies' for momentary pleasures that will one day become regrets.
"Lord, grant our children wisdom in this area. And Lord, grant the parents wisdom to be a holy and desired example. Amen"