The foreign house
Given that the closest ancient equivalent to working for a corporation is being a servant in another's household, it is striking how such work is raised as a warning to young men. If you leave your household to go into an adulteresses household, the consequence is your work will be given to an "alien" (foreign, not Jewish) household. Specifically you will give up four things:
1. Your vigor 2. Your years 3. Your strength 4. Your hard-earned goods. Those they are given to are described as others, cruel ones, strangers, and aliens. Isn't this what people who work in "cube farms" complain about? It zaps their energy, drains away years of their time, they end up with little to show for it; and, the don't know the people they work for, it is impersonal, the ultimate boss is some far away investor.
If the Christian is to attach himself to another's household-which is what employment does-let it be with the whole heart, as Joseph served the house of Potiphar and brought blessing to his whole house, as Paul commended Onesimus to serve the house of Philemon.
But back to Proverbs, why is it the natural consequence of adultery that one should give up hard years of work and the natural fruit of one's labors?
The voice of the one who falls into adultery, at the end of his life, is given to say here that the root cause was unwillingness to change the heart; essentially, stubbornness. He "hates instruction," and his "heart spurned reproof," would not listen or even give a minute's attention to teachers.
These are symptoms of self-deception. The enormous weight of guilt that accompanies unfaithfulness in marriage (a violation of the most intimate form of love, which is the center of the law of God), incurs a tremendous need for self-justification. Carrying such a burden of self-right-ness self-defense, a man can't open himself up to even the most basic self-critique necessary to thrive at work. He makes mistakes (everyone does), but he can't learn from them, because he is committed to a position of not needing to learn anything.
The writer specifically points out that it is not that the adulterer is "punished by God" per se, or even by society. Rather, "his own iniquity (self-will) will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his own sin." How? "Lack of instruction" and going astray "in the greatness of his folly (self-deception)."
How very counter-intuitive to us Westerners, who place such a divide between home and work-life, that the solution to a useless and unproductive life at work is faithful, passionate love for one's wife.
A great deal of water imagery is used here. Cistern, well, spring, stream of water, fountain. The idea seems to be that a man's sexual desire is also his flow of personal energy, his "dynamic power." Only if he properly controls it can he accomplish a great work. Like a hydro-electric dam, there is great potential to do work if the water is channeled rather than allowed to be "dispersed."
Again, since the essense of the Law of God is Love, and the Life of God is given to do the "work of love," we can only participate in the Eternal Life when we are cooperating with His love. It makes sense that we can't violate the most intimate expression of love in one part of our life, and in another part of life be fully cooperating with Him and accomplishing great things. He equips us with a personal store of energy to accomplish His work of love; dissipate that energy, and you can not expect to accomplish anything of value in your life. Whatever you might have accomplished will instead go to enrich some other man's house; perhaps a man you don't know and will never meet.
God does not divide work life from home life: "the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches ALL his paths."
1. Your vigor 2. Your years 3. Your strength 4. Your hard-earned goods. Those they are given to are described as others, cruel ones, strangers, and aliens. Isn't this what people who work in "cube farms" complain about? It zaps their energy, drains away years of their time, they end up with little to show for it; and, the don't know the people they work for, it is impersonal, the ultimate boss is some far away investor.
If the Christian is to attach himself to another's household-which is what employment does-let it be with the whole heart, as Joseph served the house of Potiphar and brought blessing to his whole house, as Paul commended Onesimus to serve the house of Philemon.
But back to Proverbs, why is it the natural consequence of adultery that one should give up hard years of work and the natural fruit of one's labors?
The voice of the one who falls into adultery, at the end of his life, is given to say here that the root cause was unwillingness to change the heart; essentially, stubbornness. He "hates instruction," and his "heart spurned reproof," would not listen or even give a minute's attention to teachers.
These are symptoms of self-deception. The enormous weight of guilt that accompanies unfaithfulness in marriage (a violation of the most intimate form of love, which is the center of the law of God), incurs a tremendous need for self-justification. Carrying such a burden of self-right-ness self-defense, a man can't open himself up to even the most basic self-critique necessary to thrive at work. He makes mistakes (everyone does), but he can't learn from them, because he is committed to a position of not needing to learn anything.
The writer specifically points out that it is not that the adulterer is "punished by God" per se, or even by society. Rather, "his own iniquity (self-will) will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his own sin." How? "Lack of instruction" and going astray "in the greatness of his folly (self-deception)."
How very counter-intuitive to us Westerners, who place such a divide between home and work-life, that the solution to a useless and unproductive life at work is faithful, passionate love for one's wife.
A great deal of water imagery is used here. Cistern, well, spring, stream of water, fountain. The idea seems to be that a man's sexual desire is also his flow of personal energy, his "dynamic power." Only if he properly controls it can he accomplish a great work. Like a hydro-electric dam, there is great potential to do work if the water is channeled rather than allowed to be "dispersed."
Again, since the essense of the Law of God is Love, and the Life of God is given to do the "work of love," we can only participate in the Eternal Life when we are cooperating with His love. It makes sense that we can't violate the most intimate expression of love in one part of our life, and in another part of life be fully cooperating with Him and accomplishing great things. He equips us with a personal store of energy to accomplish His work of love; dissipate that energy, and you can not expect to accomplish anything of value in your life. Whatever you might have accomplished will instead go to enrich some other man's house; perhaps a man you don't know and will never meet.
God does not divide work life from home life: "the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches ALL his paths."
