In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares, but [he or she] who guards [his or her ] soul stays far from them. Proverbs 22: 5, NIV.
Gracious God, into Your hand I commend this study. Please help us as we seek wisdom from Your Word. In the blessed name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
As we continue in Proverbs 22, we come to verse 5. It speaks of the dangers that strew the path of the wicked. It also speaks of the way to protect one’s soul from these dangers: by “stay[ing] far from them.” That does not seem too hard to do, does it? And it makes a lot of sense. But each person must decide for his or her(self). I have found in my own experience, that it is much easier to overcome when I am willing to say “no” to some of the things that I want to do, and “yes” to the things that are profitable to do! To help us understand this concept we will go to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: ” ‘ “Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. ‘ “Everything is permissible for me” ‘—but I will not be mastered by anything” ‘ ” (1 Corinthians 6: 12). We get a better appreciation for what Paul is saying if we can grasp, more accurately, the idea he was transmitting in his original letter. Paul is saying, “I can do whatever I want to do, but not everything I want to do is conducive to, or will contribute to, my well being. However, he was not only thinking about what was profitable for himself; he was also thinking about what was profitable for the body of believers, the community of faith. Not everything will work to our advantage.” Paul, I believe, was seeking to turn their attention from what I like – to what is profitable for us.
Obviously, they were facing several problems in the church at Corinth, of which, sexual immorality of grave proportions, was one (1 Corinthians 5: 1; 6: 13b-16). What makes “bad matters worse,” is their attitude in the face of the problem – they are puffed up (2)! Another problem was that, believers were taking other believers to court, before Gentile judges (6: 1). Paul is having a very hard time dealing with these problems. For Paul, God’s people were “in the world, but not of the world.” You see my friends, for Paul, and I would humbly submit, that this is a good attitude for Christians to acquire: When we become children of God, we take on another nationality! We are first, and foremost, Christians, regardless of what country we belong to! Listen to the way Paul phrases it in his letter to the Ephesians, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household” (Ephesians 2: 19)! Your citizenship is now in heaven (Philippians 3: 20)!
He will now deal with another problem facing the church, Whether or not Christians should eat food that has been offered to idols (10: 19-21). And again he uses the same argument as before, ” ‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others” (23, 24). He uses some local sayings to make his point: “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”—but God will destroy them both” (6: 13a). His beginning argument was, We can do whatever we want, but whatever we want, is not convenient, or profitable, or conducive to our personal, or, collective, spiritual health. He is now making another argument: Food was made for our stomach, and our stomachs were made for food. These two compliment each other. Yet one of these days God will destroy them both. Perhaps we would be tempted to believe that Paul was saying that the food problem was not as important as the other problems facing the church – that is not the case (read 10: 14-22). He was simply building up his argument to offer them the solution to all of their sin problems!
Here is the clincher: “Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power” (6: 13b-14)! Paul’s concluding argument begins with the premise that our bodies were made for the glory of God! That is the Christian’s reality! Then he goes on to remind them that God not only had the power to raise Jesus from the dead (literally), but He will also raise each and every one of us (metaphorically), who are dead in trespasses and sin, by His power! Hallelujah! But what does all of this have to do with our verse for today? Here is Paul’s final advice: “Flee sexual immorality” (18a)! “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (10: 14).
God has the power to keep us from sin. We have the choice to flee from sin – “[he or she] who guards [his or her ] soul stays far from them!”