Proverbs 5:21-23

“For human ways are under the eyes of the Lord,
and he examines all their paths.
The iniquities of the wicked ensnare them,
and they are caught in the toils of their sin.
They die for lack of discipline,
and because of their great folly they are lost.” NRSV

Ever do something in secret and hope you didn’t get caught? We all do! We drive over the speed limit; we make a personal phone call at work; we sneak the last piece of fudge. Whatever our weakness is, we sometimes do those things we know we shouldn’t do in the hopes no one will see and catch us doing it.

God sees.

We forget that! Or, at least, we ignore it. I think, for myself, I’m concerned that if God sees me doing something wrong, He will stop loving me. So it’s easier to think that He doesn’t see than that He really does.

I need more discipline.

“They die for lack of discipline . . ."

Sometimes I think that discipline is really just the desire to grasp life as it is, rather than how I wish it was. I mean . . .

I wish that eating candy didn’t produce fat.
I wish that watching TV didn’t degrade my morals.
I wish that buying things didn’t deplete my resources.
I wish that yelling when I’m angry didn’t hurt others.
I wish that I could sin without God knowing.

All these actions bring results that I want to avoid. I want the actions . . . without the consequences. And that simply isn’t going to happen. What I need to do is to embrace life as it is, not as I want it to be, to understand that certain choices will automatically bring about certain reactions and there’s nothing I can do to change that. Better that I change my choices!

“ . . . they are caught in the toils of their sin.” The KJV translates it: “they are holden with the cords of their sin.” Our choices are directly tied to their results. We can’t separate the two (as much as we might like). Further, the more we do something, the harder it is not to do it the next time. Our choice and our response becomes more and more automatic, more habitual.

“They die for lack of discipline . . . “

There are three kinds of discipline: (1) the kind of discipline that is outwardly imposed by others (e.g. punishment) to try to encourage us to change our behavior; (2) the kind of discipline that is inwardly imposed by ourselves by denying the lusts of our flesh; and (3) the kind of discipline that is teaching.

The wicked die, I think, from a lack of all three. There are times when we need others (including Father God) to impose such consequences as to violently repel us from our course. We are set on destroying ourselves because the moment feels so good! The Father’s love is such that He will create horrible circumstances to try to convince us to take another path.

There are times when we know that what we are choosing is wrong and we make the decision to turn away from it, to deny ourselves. (As Christians, it’s likely that this is a skill we need to improve in our lives. I know that I do.)

There are also those times when we simply need more instruction, to learn more about what it means to please God so that our choices line up with His will.

This passage calls “a lack of discipline” “great folly.” I want this day to embrace wisdom, rather than folly, that I might receive life rather than death.

© 2008 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. International copyright reserved. This study may be copied for nonprofit and/or church purposes only without permission when copied in its entirety (including this notice).