Proverbs 31:2-3 Fidelity - it's a beautiful thing

² Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
    Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!
³ Do not spend your strength on women,
    your vigor on those who ruin kings.


The first piece of advice that this mother gives to her son is about purity, and fidelity in the marriage relationship. She is warning him of the danger in adultery.
The book of Proverbs continually calls for sexual purity. Marriage is a God-instituted relationship, in which sexual desires may be channeled and enjoyed. 
Ever thought of how many lives have been changed by hormones? (Grin) We all know that hormones and the strong desires that they engender have caused lots of people trouble . . .
One example is Samson. He thought that Delilah was a beautiful babe, and he (mistakenly) thought she was all his. He never dreamed that she would be devious, but his hormones were raging and he succumbed to her. He went from being God's strong man, to being a laughing stock at the enemy's feasts. Only by repentance was he able to regain his strength and take many of them with him into death.
Another example is David. He was a man after God's own heart -- chosen for his role in history and in Christ's lineage -- but his hormones tripped him up. All it took was watching Bathsheba in her bubble bath, and he fell into adultery, committed murder, and tried (in vain) to hide his sin from his holy God.
Even Solomon, whose wisdom we have learned in these studies, allowed himself to be led astray by his 700 wives and 300 concubines; many of them were from "foreign" lands and brought their idols and idolatry with them. No wonder God warned against intermarriage with them!
Today, we find Satan promoting adultery. Our culture is inundated with messages of "do what feels good" and "who cares who it hurts" and other such negative advice. On the television, in movies, in popular music, and more, we receive daily messages that sexual impurity is A-OK. Well, we know it's not. But unfortunately, many in our world have swallowed those lines "hook, line, and sinker" as my grandfather used to say. As a result, today's society does not respect marriage vows. (My hubby and I have been married for over thirty-five years, and we were regarded with amazement, as something akin to dinosaurs with three heads, when we replied that was why we were dining out recently.)

To apply this to our own lives, it is obvious that we must honor and respect our vows of fidelity in our marriages.
But we must also be pure in our relationship with our Lord. We must put Him first.

And God spoke all these words:

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

³ “You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:1-3

 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.   Mark 12:30

 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  Colossians 3:1-4

Fidelity -- it is really a beautiful thing!