THIRTY SAYINGS OF THE
WISE
SAYING NUMBER SEVENTEEN
“My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways,
for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
Like a bandit she lies in wait and multiplies the unfaithful among men.”
(Proverbs 23:26–28, NIV)
The call of the parent/teacher to the child/student is to “give me your
heart”. “To give the heart is to entrust
it to the one who will direct it through teaching,
although some affection is certainly involved.”[1] This is a profound statement. As the ESV Study Bible notes: “The preface, give
me your heart, guides parents in their nurturing task: their target must ever
be the deepest core of the child’s inner life.”[2] So many times, we parents tend to ask our children
“Give us your attention. Give us your
obedience. Give us your ….. .” The task of the parent is to seek to gain the
heart of the child.
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV), reminds us that “above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.” So
Jesus could say, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in
his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his
heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Luke 6:45, NIV).
Focusing on the heart enables us to change the behavior. Dr. Tedd Trip writes,
“Parents often get sidetracked with behavior. If your goal in
discipline is changed behavior, it is easy to understand why this happens. The
thing that alerts you to your child's need for correction is his behavior.
Behavior irritates and thus calls attention to itself. Behavior becomes your
focus. You think you have corrected when you have changed unacceptable behavior
to behavior you sanction and appreciate.”[3] [I encourage you to read the entire cited
article.]
But the emphasis of this proverb is less on the parental responsibility
and placed on the child. They are to
give their heart to the wisdom of the Teacher.
It is their obligation. One of the reasons a child should “give their
heart” to their godly parent/teacher is that the wisdom that flows out will
protect them from “an adulterous woman”, a “wayward wife” and her occasion to
lead the young man in “unfaithfulness”. “The
passage portrays two types of harlots: unmarried (zonah "prostitute")
and married (nokriyah "wayward wife") (v.27). In either case
there is danger, for their way is a "pit," the gateway to Sheol; and
those who enter are as good as dead.”[4]
The wisdom that flows out to a teachable learner is a wisdom that will
not fall prey to lesser gods – particularly the god of sex. This important application toward sexual
promiscuity is often the pit that young men fall into – young men; unfaithful
to the wisdom they have been taught.
Immoral sexual conduct is the primary means that captures the young (men
and women) leading them into the pit of sin and corruption. It is entrapping and costly to disregard the
Lord’s teaching on sexual propriety.
[2] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible
(p. 1175). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[3] http://www.familylife.com/articles/topics/parenting/foundations/spiritual-development/getting-to-the-heart-of-your-childs-behavior
[4] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis
CD-ROM:Proverbs/Exposition of Proverbs/IV. The Sayings of the Wise
(22:17-24:34)/A. Thirty Precepts of the Sages (22:17-24:22), Book Version:
4.0.2
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