My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding; That you may observe discretion And your lips may reserve knowledge. For the lips of an adulteress drip honey And smoother than oil is her speech; Proverbs 5:1-3 (NASB)
Yesterday was an interesting day in the news. Once again the nation learned that social networking has claimed another victim. A government representative went on television and confessed that he has been sending "inappropriate" messages and pictures of himself over a social networking site and confessed to having six "inappropriate" relationships with women he met on line.
In the usual manner he tearfully expressed "regret" and said he "made a hugely regrettable mistake" among other things. When asked where his wife was, he simply said, "She is not here."
My husband recently told me that this is an exploding phenomenon on Facebook and that many marriages and relationships are being destroyed as a result. Today this whole thing makes me angry.
According to the American Association of Matrimonial Lawyers social networking sites are mentioned in 81% of divorce cases. The greatest dangers seem to be when predatory women are seeking out old boyfriends or High School friends to "catch up" on what has been happening in life.
The ugly reality is that women have become predators of the most vicious kind in our day and age. Gone are the Scarlet Lettered women and those who ply their sex trade under the cover of darkness. There is little shame left in the world, you must realize the adulterous woman is out there, and she is as close as your laptop computer. This is one reason I warn you to look wise to the ways of your home. Women are predators and believe me; they do not care about your happy home or your wonderful marriage.
At our core, we are all sheep and there are times we are oblivious to the dangers that lurk around every cyber corner. What begins innocently as an on line friendship can take a turn toward the devastating cliff of immorality.
With her many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she seduces him. Proverbs 7:21 (NABS)
Men whose lives have been ruined by adultery tell us that very often the woman was very crafty in her methods of baiting the trap for him. While this does not absolve the man of his responsibility for infidelity, Scripture is clear in its description of the women who prey on married men. Proverbs 5 and 7 contains wonderful counsel and warnings to men as to how to identify the immoral woman and warnings as to the end result of discarding wise counsel and falling into sexual immorality with her.
Women are certainly not immune to walking into an on-line relationship. Many women are lonely in their marriages and report “feeling unfulfilled” as wives and mothers. Striking up a friendship with a man on line may seem to be an innocent thing, but she must also be very, very aware that when she is sharing aspects of her life with a man other than her husband she is opening herself up to emotional adultery. If the man is a good listener and is compassionate and kind in response to her complaints, it is far too easy to compare him with her husband who may be nothing of the kind.
There is no such thing as an innocent cup of coffee with someone you meet on line. Ask the hundreds of thousands of men and women who have shipwrecked their marriages thinking they could handle the temptation.
This is a subject that needs much discussion in our Bible studies and fellowship groups.