Fountains

Discretion is defined as "having good judgment" or "making good decisions"1.  When you left the house and mama called behind you, "Make good choices!", she was referring to discretion.

We are going to examine Proverbs 5 in today's meditation, as it is "next" in our journey through this book of the Bible.  In this proverb, the father is warning his son to keep his marriage vows by avoiding adulterous women.  In this context, an adulterous woman is one who lures a man away from his wife and family.  In a larger context, Jesus defined adultery as lusting in your heart after someone else's spouse or any person who has not been given to you in holy marriage, which God defines as between one man and one woman.  For now, though, let's stick with the more narrow definition.

Some of you will stop reading right about here because this is not a popular topic. In today's modern world, it is common to live by the mantra of: "Life is short; do what feels good."  This practice is not only common; it has been more or less "socially acceptable".  A man leaves his wife and family (or vice versa, the woman leaves) and ungodly society's attitude is more or less: "Too bad for him/her".  "That's the breaks."  We live in a day of utter selfishness and complete self-absorption.

Solomon uses the picture of a flowing fountain to represent a godly marriage, in verses 15-19.
I am absolutely captivated by flowing water.  It is beautiful to look at and lovely to hear.  Animals prefer to drink from flowing water than from still, a fact that bedevils my husband when our dog drinks from a freshly(?)-flushed toilet.  Flowing water is more oxygenated, has more life.  So, Solomon's description is apt.

Drink water from your own cistern

and running water from your own well.

16Should your springs be dispersed outside,

your streams of water in the wide plazas?

17Let them be for yourself alone,

and not for strangers with you.

18May your fountain be blessed,

and may you rejoice in your young wife –

19a loving doe, a graceful deer;

may her breasts satisfy you at all times,

may you be captivated by her love always.

According to Solomon, even when your spouse is old, he or she is still "young" to you.  Here, in verse 18, Solomon is not advocating that a man love his wife only when she is young, but that she is to be "forever young" in his eyes.  "Be captivated by her love.....always".
Don't waste your marital "water" among strangers.

He goes on to describe the adulterous woman, who seems and looks sweet, but who in the end will bring a man to ruin, a family to destruction, children to desolation.

3For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,

and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil,

4but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,

sharp as a two-edged sword.

5Her feet go down to death;

her steps lead straight to the grave.

6Lest she should make level the path leading to life,

her paths are unstable but she does not know it.

7So now, children, listen to me;

do not turn aside from the words I speak.

8Keep yourself far from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

The best advice he gives here is to stay far away from her.  Don't even go near her.  Solomon knows how easily men are tempted by appearance, by pretty lips, by silky hair, by sparkling eyes.  Women can be tempted to adultery, but they are tempted differently.  They are tempted by financial security, by affection, by flattering words, by attention....not so much primarily by physical appearance. Women tend to form emotional attachments before they form physical attachments.  With men, it is just the opposite.

Some of the saddest words in the Bible lie in the middle of this chapter in Proverbs.  Here they are:

11And at the end of your life you will groan

when your flesh and your body are wasted away.

12And you will say, “How I hated discipline!

My heart spurned reproof!

13For I did not obey my teachers

and I did not heed my instructors.

14I almost came to complete ruin

in the midst of the whole congregation!”

As a parent, the most heart-breaking aspect of child-rearing is to raise a rebellious child, a child who has heard the truth and seen it lived out "in technicolor", but who has refused it, believing that "I know better than my parents!"  And, then, they go on to make horrific choices, "throwing away" their futures by hooking up with non-Christian young people, having premarital sex, marrying an unbeliever, letting career opportunities pass them by while they waste their time, spurning educational opportunities, flirting with drugs and crime ..... until one day they find themselves trapped by the cords of their own sin, enslaved by their own foolishness, nearly ruined.  And, all because they did not listen to wisdom, when it was presented to them.  If a course correction is not made, they will find themselves on their deathbeds, looking back and berating themselves for being such fools - - - for hating correction, despising discipline.

I am amazed how often this happens in godly homes, in homes where children have been given all the advantages: spiritual, physical, material, emotional.  The godly parent's prayer is embodied in verse 7:

7So now, children, listen to me;

do not turn aside from the words I speak.

A godly Christian parent's words are like a freshly-flowing fountain!  They are words of wisdom and of life.

You might say....oh, the parents of rebellious children were like Solomon....they said one thing and did another.  Solomon, after all, became utterly enslaved by his "desire to acquire".  His wealth and increasing his wealth became an obsession, until he had a harem of almost 1000 women, not to mention the precious, valuable objects he collected, the amazing buildings he built.  Even those gifted with a supernatural amount of wisdom can be derailed by various kinds of lusts.  The price Solomon's family paid was high.

But, there are truly godly parents whose children go astray, despite prayers, sacrifice, excellent spiritual training, holy example, abundant love.  Who can fathom that?  I can't explain why that happens, other than that every person is given by God the free will to follow Him or not.  You can't suck your faith out of your baby bottle.

Well, this has been a hard, grim and somewhat depressing post.  It is about a proverb that sternly warns. There's no getting around it. Solomon uses the "fountain" analogy again to describe discretion in Proverbs 16:22 - -

Discretion is a life-giving fountain to those who possess it.

May we regularly refresh ourselves with long, deep, satisfying drinks!

Source:

1   https://www.google.com/searchq=define%3A+discretion&oq=define%3A+discretion&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i58.3671j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8