4/22/10

The real thing says love

In a couple of weeks Linda and I will have our 42nd wedding anniversary. Wow, where has the time gone!? So, what to give her? Roses, of course; but not these puppies! At first glance they may look great, but make a closer inspection. Bacon, in all its cholesterol glory!! These are a heart attack just waiting to happen. Sometimes things that might look good are in fact very bad for you. As you are thinking about this, read Proverbs 5.

Prov 5:1-23 (WEB)
Prov 5
1) My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:
2) that you may maintain discretion, that your lips may preserve knowledge.
3) For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,
4) But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.
5) Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.
6) She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn’t know it.
7) Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Don’t depart from the words of my mouth.
8) Remove your way far from her. Don’t come near the door of her house,
9) lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;
10) lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man’s house.
11) You will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,
12) and say, “How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
13) neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!
14) I have come to the brink of utter ruin, in the midst of the gathered assembly.”
15) Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.
16) Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?
17) Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.
18) Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19) A loving doe and a graceful deer— let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.
20) For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?
21) For the ways of man are before the eyes of Yahweh. He examines all his paths.
22) The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
23) He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.

Face it, Sex sells. The weaker sex are weaker in name only. I have three grown daughters and 5 grand-daughters and I can tell you from experience that the ladies of the house are a true force to be reckoned with. However, the male of the species is not too bright when it comes to affairs of the heart (or perhaps something more erotic). Men can be tricked quite easily into the arms of another and as this Proverb shows, headed for disaster. So, guys, do yourself a favor and re-read verse 18. Stay with the wife of your youth and do everything you can to make her happy. Here is a good pointer to start things off: don't give her bacon roses. I highly recommend the real thing because it says love better than any snack you can think of.