Teaching About Moral Pitfalls

 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 8
 
“For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, and beheld among the simple ones  ...  a young man void of understanding, passing through the street near her corner.” Proverbs 7:6-86For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, 7And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, 8Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, (Proverbs 7:6‑8)
We tend to be shy to discuss with our growing children the intimate and sacred things of manhood and womanhood. But what better place for them to learn about these things than in the safety of the home? The son in this chapter is seen looking through his window, from a safe vantage point, if you will. He observed the course of an erring young man, who was flattered by and finally yielded to the charms of a beautiful but wicked woman. The one in the window had the advantage of seeing the whole course of this fool’s life, “till a dart strike through his liver” (Prov. 7:2323Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. (Proverbs 7:23)), and it was very instructive.
The time to talk about moral pitfalls is before they are experienced. We don’t do our duty as faithful teachers if we fail to point out to our children some of the snares they may face as they grow up and leave the protection of the home. Dare we call these discussions defiling if scripture itself lays them out for our warning? May the Lord give us wisdom and discretion in choosing the proper words and timing for these important talks. “My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee  ...  that they may keep thee from the strange woman” (Prov. 7:1,51My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. (Proverbs 7:1)
5That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words. (Proverbs 7:5)).