On July 9, 1960, a man took his two kids for a boat ride on the Niagra River. Motor trouble caused the boat to get caught up in the fast current and tip over. The father was swept over the falls to his death. One of the children, a 7-year-old boy, fell over the Canadian Horseshoe falls and miraculously survived and was rescued. The teen aged sister was also amazingly rescued at the very last second before falling over the edge of the falls.

“The water falls at 32 feet per second over the falls, hitting the base of the falls with 280 tons of force at the American and Bridal Veil Falls and 2,509 tons of force at the Horseshoe Falls.” (link) Once something is caught in that current, only a miracle can stop it. And once something has already started falling, there is no turning back. It’s too late. The best way to avoid falling over the edge is to avoid getting caught in the current in the first place.

And that’s just what God tells us in Proverbs 2:16-22. Let’s continue our study of Proverbs:

So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;
none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.

So you will walk in the way of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
For the upright will inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.

SO…What?

Both of these sections of Proverbs 2 begin with a “so.” SO, let’s go back and briefly review what has to happen SO these next two sections become a reality. Basically, the author is telling his son that he needs discretion and understanding SO he can avoid evil; both doing evil and suffering the consequences of evil. The first kind of evil he described came from evil men, and he gave a thorough picture of what these men are like. Now he turns to evil women. Evil resides in both genders, and both men and women can become entrapped in its snare.

The Forbidden Woman

The picture he paints is of a forbidden woman. A woman off limits to a young man who wants to pursue wisdom. She’s a smooth talking liar.

1. She lies to the young men she tries to lure. She tells them it’s all good.
2. She lied to her husband and broke her marriage vows.
3. She lied to God and broke covenant with Him, too.

Satan is the father of lies, but he always presents prettily. That’s the trap, and it seems like recognizing it should be a no-brainer, yet it’s a successful trap and always has been throughout history. The lie here is that forbidden physical pleasures will bring happiness. Today we have this lie manifesting itself on the Internet in the form of porn, and Christian men (and women!) are falling for it like barrels over the Niagra.

You Can’t Come Back

Here’s the problem: it’s a lie. So while the current appears exciting, attractive, and satisfying—when you dip your toe in it, you go down with it, and you never come back. Really? Really. You never come back. Talk to anyone honest who is recovering from porn addiction. You never regain your original mind, free from the memories of the images and experiences. You can be forgiven, and you can be set free, but you can never totally go back until you get your fully sanctified body on Resurrection Day. In the meantime the struggle to resist will always be there, the way a recovering alcoholic struggles to win the battle.

Think of the freedom and clarity of mind and soul we can have when we listen to Wisdom and feast on it daily. The next section says if you have discretion and understanding, you will walk in the way of the good. There is a good way, and a not–so-good way. You will keep to the paths of the righteous. You won’t even be tempted to wander into the current. You’ll be happy to avoid it, knowing it leads to death.

The Promise

Then the writer gives the promise. The upright will inherit the land and those with integrity will remain in it. Does this mean everyone who is upright will end up wealthy land owners? I don’t believe Proverbs is always meant to be interpreted literally. It’s like the Psalms that way. (Does God literally own the cattle ONLY on a thousand hills? Who owns the cattle on all the other ones?) This is a figurative, principle-type promise. When a person has integrity, they will naturally reap the benefits and blessings of it. They will have peace of mind, favor with many (not all) people, inner joy, hope for their eternal future, and so forth. Their hard work will eventually pay off; if not in their time, in their children’s time. What they have invested will come around eventually. This is “inheriting the land.” This is staying on dry ground and not playing with currents.

But the wicked? They’ll be cut off, and the treacherous will be rooted out. They do not have peace or joy or hope. They won’t be successful in the long run because they lack the integrity necessary to maintain healthy relationships with God and others. They use people. They steal and cheat and look for quick wealth rather than hunkering down and doing hard, honest work throughout the course of a lifetime.

Living on the edge and looking for a fast current may appeal to our senses on the front end. But once that line is crossed, it’s too late. All is lost. No going back.

SO—it’s simple. Get discretion and understanding. Do it, and live.