Moms all over the world want to warn their children of the dangers of life. Proverbs 31 shows a mom instructing her son in an area that many shy away from. I can see her now, sitting at the foot of his bed teaching about an age-old problem. This problem affects us all. She is teaching her son not to allow sensuality to sway his thinking.
Proverbs 31:3 “Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.”
In verse 3 the word strength means to have strength and influence. The idea is to not allow someone to influence you, and manipulate you, for their benefit. It’s very hard for a young man to separate lust and love, and yet, there is a huge difference between the two. If this mother was Bathsheba, and many think it was, she would know first hand how devastating it can be when a king yields to undue influence. David, while on his rooftop saw Bathsheba in her courtyard bathing and succumbed to the lust he felt. From that day forward, he suffered the consequences of his sin. Though he repented, the consequences remained. As the saying goes, you can choose your sin, but you can’t choose the consequences. To get a clear picture of how this played out in David’s life, read II Samuel chapters 11- 19. No novel can rival the true story of David’s life.
This mom is seeking to teach her son not to allow the lust of the eyes, pride of life, and lust of the flesh to control him. Here we have a young man who, because of his position, could easily indulge himself in all of these. When David chose to yield his strength to a woman it led to adultery, lying, deception, murder, and hypocrisy. I can almost see this mom speaking softly on the outside, but screaming on the inside, for her son to avoid the wrong influence of a woman.
She warns of the kind of woman that will lead her son into sin. She tells him to stay away from the “ways” that destroy kings. A woman who uses her looks to draw a man’s attention is using the wrong thing. Moms pay attention to the girls that surround your boys. Is their countenance what you notice first, or is it the wearing of clothing that draws attention to the sensual parts of the body? Those are areas between the start at the cleavage area and the thigh. Moms protect your daughters by not allowing them to wear clothing of this type. Teach them why it is wrong to desire to dress “sexy.”
God designed men to be “turned on” by sight. Think about what is in the sight of your son. Our young girls need to be taught the biblical approach to relationships otherwise they will follow the pattern set by the world and think nothing of it. The world will teach them to be immodest. It will teach them immorality is normal and ok. We need to teach them sexual immorality is always wrong therefore, it is wrong to get on the road that leads to it. We need to govern the relationships our children have. We need to pray for their future mate, even before they are born. Pray for the purity of their future mate and for your child’s purity.
As a parent, we need to set up rules for relationships and stick with them. For instance, never allow them to be alone with someone from the opposite sex. Why place them in a situation where they could be tempted to think wrong, which may lead to acting wrong. Encourage them to have friends, not boyfriend, girlfriend relationships. Provide an atmosphere where their friends are welcome in your home. It is always smarter to have them in your home where you govern what goes on, and you can be an influence on their friends. Don’t allow them to spend time, especially overnight, in a home where you don’t know the Christian values of the parents. Know them and their values and make sure they know yours.
If you are not teaching your child as the mother in Proverbs 31 was, you are doing your child a great disservice. The threat of immorality was real then, and it is real today. We must teach and train in relationships and issues of immorality. God gave you children to instruct and train in His ways. How you train them, will in great measure, determine their future.
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
