Lions and Women
13
The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion out there!
If I go outside, I might be killed!”
14
The mouth of an immoral woman is a dangerous trap;
those who make the Lord angry will fall into it.
15
A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness,
but physical discipline will drive it far away.
Verse 13
When Solomon writes about the lazy man, he usually uses humor. This lazy man has an excuse for everything. He cannot even leave his house.
The lazy man tells us that there is a lion outside. We look, but we cannot see any lion. He tells us that a murderer is outside. We cannot see any murderer, either.
The truth is that the man just wants an excuse to be lazy.
God needs people to work for him (Matthew 9:37-38). God wants us to teach his good news. God wants people to hear about the Bible. God wants to forgive people. We must work for God. We must not be lazy.
Sometimes there will be dangers. Sometimes these dangers are real (Matthew 10:34-38). We must be wise and careful. (Matthew 10:16-17). But if we suffer, God will reward us (Matthew 10:39). So we should not be afraid (Matthew 10:26). Read Matthew 10.
Verse 14
A deep well is very dangerous. If you fall in, then you cannot easily climb out. Perhaps nobody will hear your cries. Perhaps nobody can rescue you. Perhaps you will die.
Evil deeds are dangerous. If evil things tempt you, these things are dangerous. These things can cause many troubles.
Perhaps sex tempts you. Or perhaps money tempts you. Or, other things might tempt you. You should refuse. Then God will protect you (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9).
God is angry with evil people (Deuteronomy 1:26, 34). If a person does evil things, then he will suffer many troubles. But, if he asks God to forgive him, then God will forgive (Psalm 51:17).
Verse 15
By ‘foolish’, Solomon means ‘evil’. We all do evil things (Romans 7:19). This is because men and women refused to obey God (Genesis 3). Even a child does wrong things.
But the child can learn to do the right things. And we can all learn to obey God. First, we must ask God to forgive us. We must trust in God. Then God will teach his wisdom to us.
We should teach our children. We should explain how they should behave. We should encourage them to respect God. When they can understand this, they should ask God to forgive their evil behavior. Our children are not Christians merely because we believe. They themselves must trust in God.
Sometimes we must punish our children. We do not punish them because we are angry. We punish them because we love them. A smack does not always need to hurt. Often a smack should be gentle. It is like a lesson. It teaches the child to behave more wisely.
Think about this: If a young child goes near a hot stove, you don’t wait until they get burned to stop them. Sometimes, you need to firmly say, "Don’t do that!" to protect them.
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