Articles
A Warning To Men
Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.
Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who does so destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonor he will get, And his reproach will not be wiped away.
-- Prov. 6:27-29, 32-33
The story is played out in the public eye time and time again, from politicians to religious figures to sports icons. The latest “burn victim” is Bobby Petrino, former head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. Bobby wrecked his motorcycle. “Oh, did I forget to mention that I had my girlfriend on the back of the bike? The one I preferentially hired at a $50,000+ salary? The girlfriend who just happens to be engaged to someone else? Are you going to tell my wife?”
The details differ slightly from one story to the next, but they all have some common denominators. One of those is arrogance, which Coach Petrino displayed publicly many times before. He had shown himself to be an unprincipled opportunist but was hired anyway thanks to a win-at-all-costs mentality.
But in a strange turnabout, arrogance can be a great equalizer. The arrogant sinner thinks he is smarter than everyone else and can continue to get away with his crimes. He gets bolder and bolder -- until he wrecks his motorcycle. And then it all comes into the open. The multimillion-dollar job is lost, reputations are ruined, shame blankets the families, and everyone wrings their hands, asking how this possibly could have happened.
Physical passions and urges are powerful, and if we allow them to be corrupted and misdirected, we will find it hard to control them even at great risk to our careers, marriages and respect of those we love. So the Proverbs advise men:
Drink water from your own cistern. ... Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth. For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin. He shall die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray (Prov. 5:15, 18, 21-23).
