Sexual freedom is an illusion, because immorality is not as pretty as it seems.
But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death;
Her steps follow the path to Sheol;
She does not ponder the path of life;
Her ways wander, and she does not know it (Prov 5:4-6).
Last week, we saw that the “adulteress” is an image of all sexual immorality. Immorality has a sweet candy coating, but inside it’s a bitter pill (Prov 5:4). “Wormwood” is a plant with a bitter taste, and that’s what immorality is once you move past first impressions. I know a guy who works for a chemical company that works on both drugs and candy. He told me that the outer shell on an M&M is the same thing as the shell on an Advil. Next time you have the chance, I dare you to chew the Advil.
Immorality leads only to death (Prov 5:5). The last thing it has in mind is our good (Prov 5:6a). In fact, it’s not even aware of the harm it causes (Prov 5:6b). Immorality is full of passion, but it’s clueless and self-defeating, like a pimply freshman inviting the homecoming queen over for video gaming.
How does this apply? Sexual immorality promises life, but the wise know it really gives death. We ought to be ready, especially for the battle of words. We have to expose immorality’s sweet-talk. We must remind ourselves of the truth. We need to talk about it often with others, to warn them. We unhinge its power when we strip it of its secrecy.
In 2008, pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle shared some astonishing statistics about sexual immorality in America.
Pornography is a $60-billion a year annual industry globally. Twelve billion of that is spent by Americans…This is more money than is spent on pro-baseball, basketball and football combined…Over 200 porn films are made in the U.S. every week. That’s more than one an hour. Porn sites are 12 percent of all Internet sites. Porn is 25 percent of all search engine requests…Every second $3,000 is spent on porn in America. Twenty-eight thousand Internet users are viewing porn every second in America, and 372 Internet users every second in America are typing in words looking for more porn. Ninety percent of children between the ages of 8 and 16 have viewed porn online. The average child sees porn for the first time at age 11 online, usually inadvertently.
Death surrounds us, and it’s covered in pretty makeup and stage lighting. We must talk about it frankly yet graciously, for no one who indulges in it will go unharmed.
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