Transcripts: Enjoy Life Forever!

Transcript: Lacking Good Sense.
[JW Broadcasting. Seth Hyatt. Helper to the Service Committee]
‎Seth: Well, the words of today’s text ‎may have reminded you of the admonition ‎at 1 Corinthians 6:18, ‎where Paul wrote: ‎“Flee from sexual immorality!” ‎or perhaps the words at 2 Timothy 2:22, ‎where he wrote to Timothy: ‎“Flee from youthful desires.” ‎In today’s text, ‎a father is counselling his son ‎and encouraging him to stay away ‎from sexual immorality. ‎In Proverbs chapter 7, the counsel is strengthened ‎by means of an experience. ‎The king describes a scene ‎that he personally witnessed, ‎and we read about it in Proverbs chapter 7, ‎beginning in verse 6. ‎So why don’t we turn there together? ‎At Proverbs 7:6, ‎you can imagine a father ‎encouraging a son ‎and he relates this experience: ‎“From the window of my house, ‎through my lattice, I looked down, ‎and as I observed the naive ones ‎[or as the footnote says, the inexperienced ones , like you, son, the inexperienced ones], ‎I discerned among the youths a young man ‎lacking good sense ‎[or, in want of heart, ftn.].” ‎Now, that’s the first strike ‎against the young man, isn’t it? ‎He’s young and, as a result, ‎he’s inexperienced, the two go together. ‎But the father proceeds to describe ‎what he observed and the progression of events ‎that led to a tragic outcome for the young man. ‎So, it says in verse 8 ‎that the young man “passed along the street near her corner.” ‎Now, the “her” ‎is a prostitute. ‎What is he doing in the neighborhood? ‎Well, we’re told that “he marched ‎in the direction of her house.” ‎The word “march” ‎implies a sense of confidence, doesn’t it? ‎Isn’t it interesting ‎that a young person is often confident ‎even in risky situations? ‎Why? ‎Because a young person lacks experience ‎and can’t always foresee ‎the implications of a situation ‎or the outcome. ‎Another factor is highlighted in verse 9: ‎“In the twilight, in the evening, ‎at the approach of night and darkness.” ‎So now we have inexperience; ‎we have a bad neighborhood; ‎we have a young man who is confident, ‎who evidently has no intention of committing immorality ‎and may even feel that he’s in control of the circumstances; ‎and its night-time. ‎Now, I know as a young man where I grew up, ‎everybody knew there were certain places, ‎or parts of town, where you didn’t go after dark ‎because it was a recipe for disaster. ‎In verse 10, the inevitable happens. ‎The young man is confronted by a prostitute, ‎and rather than turning around ‎and leaving the situation, ‎he engages with her in conversation. ‎And in verse 22, ‎we read the result, the culmination, of this progression ‎of ingredients: ‎“Suddenly he goes after her, ‎like a bull to the slaughter, ‎like a fool to be punished in the stocks.” ‎Now, what do we learn ‎from this word “suddenly”? ‎Well, simply this: ‎In any situation, we can cross a line ‎where we no longer control the circumstances; ‎rather, the circumstances control us. ‎And isn’t that what happened to the young man? ‎He put himself in a situation, going down a path ‎that eventuated, or culminated, ‎in his committing sexual immorality. ‎And the seriousness of the matter ‎is highlighted in the “b” portion of verse 23, ‎where it says: “It will cost him his life.” ‎So, there’s a ripple effect. ‎Certainly, his relationship with Jehovah was damaged. ‎His relationship with his family would be affected. ‎And there are even physical factors , illnesses that can result ‎from sexual immorality. ‎Now, note in verse 26, ‎the father says: “She has caused many to fall down slain, ‎and those she has killed are numerous.” ‎And as our Watchtower recently made the point, ‎thousands are disfellowshipped every year ‎from Jehovah’s family ‎because of sexual immorality. ‎Now, a question that Brother Kittle addressed, ‎is it only the inexperienced ‎that fall victim to this sad progression? ‎Well, let’s look at an illustration that appeared ‎in the Watchtower article. ‎You’ll probably remember this illustration. ‎And here we see two married couples ‎having supper together, ‎a seemingly innocent situation. ‎But what are the two folks sitting closest ‎to the camera doing? ‎They’re flirting, aren’t they? ‎You see the sister twirling her hair with her finger, ‎and the brother is saying, ‎in essence, ‘I only have eyes for you.’ ‎And you can see wedding rings on all four ‎of those individuals’ hands. ‎It’s a start down a slippery slope, isn’t it? ‎And as portrayed in The Watchtower, ‎this couple would later accidentally “on purpose” bump ‎into each other in the parking lot of the Kingdom Hall ‎after an evening meeting, ‎engage in conversation, ‎and that progressed to texting. ‎Now, the good news is, as depicted in The Watchtower, ‎these folks realized ‎that they were headed down a dangerous path ‎and took steps to correct it. ‎But wouldn’t it have been better ‎if they hadn’t gone down the road to begin with? ‎It’s a good reminder for all of us, ‎whatever our age or circumstance. ‎Here at Bethel, we interact with ones of the opposite sex ‎and many of us are married, ‎but many are not. ‎But as we were reminded, ‎we want to make sure our conduct is chaste ‎and pleasing to Jehovah. ‎The same holds true at the Kingdom Hall ‎and in our use of the Internet ‎and in our choice of entertainment. ‎We don’t want to start down a path ‎that could take us away from Jehovah. ‎I’ll never forget a pioneer sister ‎who used to counsel us young people ‎in the congregation, and we loved her. ‎But she had an expression that she would tell us, ‎“If you’re not going to burn down the barn, ‎don’t strike the match.” ‎Now, what’s the point of her statement? ‎Why start a progression of events ‎that we know will lead to sadness and tragedy? ‎So, we don’t even go there. ‎And even if we’re inexperienced, we can act wisely. ‎What did the psalmist say? ‎He said: ‘How can a young man keep his path clean? ‎‘By keeping on guard ‎according to Jehovah’s word.’ ‎So, Jehovah has given us everything we need ‎to remain clean. ‎So, talk to Jehovah about it. ‎Be alert to identify and be determined ‎to avoid dangerous situations, ‎and then we don’t have to experience ‎the sad outcome of the young man described ‎in Proverbs chapter 7. ‎Instead, we can succeed ‎in fleeing from sexual immorality.
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