Choices Have Consequences

(Proverbs 7:10 KJV)  And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

This is an unusual chapter in Proverbs.  Almost the entire chapter deals with one story, an event.  It is not just a series of pointed remarks.  It relates two people meeting and the evil that comes of it.  We meet people in a constant flow.  Some we ignore as we pass by.  Some we give superficial greetings.  Others we engage in conversation.  We have more control over how the contact goes than we think. 

Recently my wife and I were involved in a long conversation with someone we had never seen before and never expect to see again.  In the process we heard much of her life story.  Later my wife commented on how long it went on and could not understand why.  I did.  It went on forever because she kept asking questions and responding with her own stories.  If it had just been me the conversation would have never moved beyond first greetings.

The man and women in this chapter of Proverbs made choices.  There were many places where different choices would have caused different outcomes.  We face the same in our lives.

So?  We need to develop a longer range view of the choices we make.  Sometimes that is based on common sense.  Other times it is experience.  Always it requires us to be honest with ourselves.  Engage your brain.