Friday, August 5, 2011

Adultery (of the Mind)

We are in the midst of training hearts at the Majors' house.  It's kind of cyclical.  Sometimes we obey more readily than others.  Presently obedience is not the first response.

Many mornings I read a Proverb to start my day (there are 31 Proverbs and 31 days in a month, or there about).  As I was reading Proverbs 5 about adultery - my mind went to parenting.

Proverbs 5:11-14
and at the end of your life you groan...and you say, "How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!  I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.  I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation."

Yesterday I was talking with another mom when she came to pick up her son from a play date.  The boys had performed a play for me, complete with acts, scenes, props, costumes and LOTS of action!  It was very fun to watch.

The other mom commented that she liked to see her son use his imagination, especially on the cuffs of having another boy at her house recently (she didn't tell me who).  The other boy asked repeatedly to play video games (when she had told him that they were not going to play videos when he first arrived.)

My mom friend commented something to the effect of, "It's almost like they're addicted (to video games) and don't know how to use their brains for imaginative play."

The above conversation was echoing in my mind as I read Proverbs 5: 22-23

The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.  He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.


{I feel like I need to say that if you play video games at your house, that's fine.  For us, and our child, video games are complete destruction.}

The main point I wanted to make in this post is that I see correlations between parenting and adultery.  Have you seen this?

Proverbs 5:1-2
My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. 

1 comment:

I Make Scleroderma Look Good said...

I think this is a great post. Thank you for sharing. Proverbs 5: 22-23 really brings your thoughts together on this matter.

If I am interpretting you correctly, it isn't just video games you are talking about. That only happens to be the illustration. It could be simply tv, or facebook, or even something more edifying like (gasp) even a Bible study if the motivation behind it, or what it does to you is not... I want to say pure, but that could be confusing I suppose.

I guess I will share the example that just popped into my head from my own life. A seemingly harmless habit, as a preteen, I lived in the same neighborhood as one of the cutest guys in school. I naturally developed a crush on him. Every day after school, even though it was the long way around, my mother would drive me by his house. Whether she suggested it, or I begged for it, I'm not sure. But it was allowed, either way.

And later in life, I became bound by that obsession of driving by my crush's house. Or an ex-boyfriend's house. Or my husband's ex, mother of his daughter, in the middle of the night, black ice in New England, pregnant.

I hit rock bottom with that one and realized that it was a foolish and unecessary drive by. What could I possibly gain by driving by at that late hour, or ever? What would I see? But the root went so deep, and at that point, after years of absolutely no discipline in this area of my life, I was totally led astray, and ensnared by my own actions.

This obsessive, repetitive, fruitless behavior would resurface in other areas throughout my life in the last few years. Basically, any time I feel powerless or out of control. Therefore, I am constantly dealing with it. And to be truthful, it had become so bad at one point it carried the potential of placing us in serious risk of violating all kinds of laws.

So, when I agree with you that discipline goes a long way, I mean it desperately. Parents, say "NO!" to your children. It is okay, and it will guide them in the way everlasting!

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails