DON'T GO THERE
Proverbs 5:7-9 NKJV
7 Therefore hear me now, my children,
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove your way far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house,
9 Lest you give your honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
Don't go there was a popular phrase in the 90s. And, as many popular cultural sayings, it became overused, but in the light of today's proverbs, it's totally appropriate.
The writer of the Proverbs, most likely Solomon, is warning his son about staying away from immoral women. This is not an indictment against all women because Solomon lauds the Proverbs 31 woman. Rather, this is an indictment against immoral women who can lead the son astray. But there is a greater application that we can apply here without taking too much liberty in the scriptures.
In verse seven, it is interesting to note that Solomon shifts his instructions to children, not just sons. And his warnings are to not depart from his words. We can easily apply God's Word to our setting. We are not to depart from the words that are revealed to us in Scripture.
Solomon warns to remove your way far from her, the immoral woman, and do not go near the door of her house. We can apply this wisdom to our own lives this way. There are sins and weights that hold us down and trip us up (Hebrews 12:1). No one is immune in this area. The sins that trip you may not work on me. And the sins that give me the hardest time may not bother you. Just another good reason not to judge our family in Christ. But Solomon's warning can apply to us if we realize that one of the key ways to not sin is to not go there. In our minds and in our actions, we stay away from the areas that cause us trouble. If we stay away, then we are in a much better place to resist.
For example, and I will use a fairly benign example, if we have a problem with our eating, one of the best ways to get a handle on that problem is to not have certain foods in the house. Now, this is more of a weight than a sin, no pun intended, but the principle works across the board. If there are no chips, salsa, and Oreos in the house, then I am on safe ground. But if my pantry is loaded, then it's much easier to go there.
If alcohol has been a problem, then don't meet your friends in the bar. If you have a problem with overspending or looking at pornography, stay as far away from those web sites as you can. And keep in mind that the more you resist, the stronger you become. The key is to recognize the "doors" that can lead you into sin and avoid them.
Another realm we have to explore is not going there in our thoughts. This is more difficult often because we have relegated thoughts to being harmless. Thoughts are anything but harmless. This is why the scriptures admonish us to control our thoughts (Philippians 4:8)
The result of not going there is we don't suffer loss. We don't give our best, our strength, to those things that are counterproductive, and we close the door on the enemy.
Don't go there is a good mantra for believers looking to walk closer to the Lord!
PRAYER
Lord, help me recognize the areas that trip me up and strengthen me by Your spirit and word to not go there.