indiscretions | considering the word

Pr. 7:11: “She was loud and rebellious, her feet would not stay at home.”.

Being a stay-at-home mom, I can easily understand what this harlot should have been doing. (Hang with me, men). It says her feet would not stay home.

She had responsibilities she should have been home taking care of. She had a husband that relied on her to be trustworthy while he was away.

She was loud and rebellious, not caring about what she ought to be doing. No doubt the phrase, “I’m going to do what I want, when I want, and no on is going to stop me” was something she believed.

In Titus 2, Paul writes out some of the qualities of a sound church. Older men are to be sober, reverent, temperate, and sound in faith, love, and patience. In other words, men are expected to behave sensibly and respectfully. They should be able to show restraint because of their faith.

Women are asked to also be reverent, not slanderers, not given to much wine, and to be teachers of good things. They are also to be a good example for younger women, demonstrating how to love their husbands and children, how to be discreet and chaste, obedient, and how to be good homemakers.

Eeeeek! This goes against so much that our society teaches right now. I know. I get it. I’m sorry.

The thing is, though, the Word hasn’t changed. God has not changed. He still expects us to live lives that are godly and reverent, and that being honor and glory to Him.

The harlot in that verse wasn’t doing any of the things she should have been doing, and was, in fact, doing exactly what she shouldn’t.

When we serve the Lord, we cannot just act any way we want. No, we aren’t going to be perfect, but that doesn’t give us the excuse to not even try to live a godly life.

When we choose to serve the Lord, we are expected to make some changes. If our lives are to point others to Him and to glorify Him, we must make every effort to live as examples.

We need to keep our feet at home, which for us means we need to be about our own business and about the business of the Lord. We also don’t need to be loud or rebellious, but instead we should be discreet, respectful, and submissive to the word of God.

Those things don’t make us weak or mindless, they make us strong, full of integrity, and influential for Christ. And, contrary to what the world tells us, being influential for Christ is why we are here. That is the goal.

Let’s be loud in our obedience to Christ, and be faithful in our example.

In charge of my feet,

jamie

Pr. 5:2: “That you may preserve discretion, and your lips may keep knowledge.”

Canning is a beautiful art. You can take fruit, vegetables, meat, and herbs in the height of their freshness and preserve the taste and beauty they hold. You can eat delicious tomatoes in the middle of winter that are almost as lovely as those that were harvested fully ripe. Grapes can be plucked right off the vine and turned into delicious jelly you can use any time the craving arises. Fresh fish can be canned and stored to feed a family all winter when fishing is an impossibility.

Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is.

The catch is this: you cannot just throw some tomatoes in a jar, put them on a shelf, and expect them to remain preserved. Bacteria can quickly grow in a jar of unsealed food, leaving the food dangerous and deadly. Canning is a labor-intensive process that requires preparation, diligence, knowledge, and commitment.

So, it is with discretion. We cannot just expect to preserve that within ourselves when surrounded by indiscretions. We must diligently and knowledgeably commit ourselves to guarding discretion in our lives. We cannot neglect the seeds of indiscretion that try to multiply in our lives through temptations, tv and movies, media, books, music, etc.

That is not to say that we cannot enjoy our lives, but keeping knowledge on our lips requires alertness and carefulness. Sometimes it can be laborious. Sometimes we may feel like we’re missing out on something. It is a labor; however, that is worth the trouble.

If we want juicy fruits of the Spirit to drip from our lips, if we want to be filled with the tastes of wisdom and knowledge, if we want to enjoy fruit during the “off-season,” we must plan and pay attention to preserving those things. We must continue to check that our seals are not allowing bacteria to seep in and grow.

Enjoy the fruits,

jamie