Deathtrap Daisy

For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
To keep you from the evil woman,
From the flattering tongue of a seductress.
Do not lust after her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
For by means of a harlot
A man is reduced to a crust of bread;
And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
Proverbs 6:23-26 (NKJV)

It's such a sad story. The woman in these verses was not born a seductress, nor was she meant to become one. In the same way, desire was not originally lust, nor was it ever meant to become that. God gave us this wonderful gift of sex. We've perverted it. I have to wonder what we've lost by doing that. How would we experience romantic love, even erotic love, today if it was still as God created it? Who would this woman be if her purpose hadn't been twisted somewhere along the way?

What's ironic is that we think we've pulled one over on God. We wave our fornication, our adultery, our hedonism in His face as if He's the one who has lost something. I can see this woman called Lust joining us in our derision of the Creator, not knowing that her contempt is for us as well. We have paid the price for buying into her deception. Now that we've given ourselves over to her, she's gained a part of us, a part we can never recover. Just as the young man who gives into temptation has his vision of women forever dimmed, so has humanity's idea of sexuality been permanently colored by Lust.

The answer provided in this passage, however, is not to disengage from our desire. It is to approach it with wisdom, which can be learned from God's commandments and guidance. We must acknowledge that our own vision is obscured, and that we should move forward only with the help of the One who sees rightly. It is in our despair at having become a whore that we look to Him and regain the hope of becoming His pure bride.