TODAY IN THE WORD
When Montreal, Canada, was chosen as the site of the 1976 Summer Olympics, the city estimated that its Olympic facilities would cost $300 million. But according to the Wall Street Journal,labor disputes and soaring construction costs left Montreal $1 billion in debt when the Games were over.

Sometimes, it’s hard to anticipate the true cost of things. That’s the way it is for people who allow themselves to be lured along the path of lust and adultery. Our study of marriage would not be complete without a biblical reminder that Satan and his forces are out to attack and destroy our marriages.

The writer of Proverbs did a masterful job showing the surprising, and bitter, payoff that comes from sexual sin. The pursuit, or even the fantasy, of a sinful affair may involve exhilaration at first, when the sin seems as sweet as honey and as smooth as oil. No one ever said sin wasn’t pleasurable.

But the sweetness soon turns bitter, and the sinner’s life wastes away in groaning, ruin, and bitter regret. Sin’s pleasures last only “a short time” (Heb. 11:25), and then comes the reckoning with God in heaven and with the havoc caused on earth.

For instance, think about the celebrities and other public figures whose marriages and lives have self-destructed in front of the world. Better yet, take another look at our text and notice words like “gall,” “double-edged sword,” “death,” and “the grave.” No wonder God’s Word pleads with us to do whatever it takes to keep ourselves from the devastation of adultery.

In another passage, Solomon explained why some people continued to plunge on into sin despite all the warning signs. He wrote, “When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong” (Eccl. 8:11).

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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
If you’re feeling any pull in the direction of unfaithfulness, today is the right time to start running in the other direction.

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