Series: Wisdom That Works
Message: Sexy Wisdom
Preacher: Mark Johnson
Reflection: Mark Witas
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Jessyka Dooley
Live Beyond: J. Murdock
Live Purpose: Kyle Smith
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Proverbs 5:1-23 in the New International Version (NIV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: “May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love” (Proverbs 5:18-19).
Hollywood has released thousands of movies through the years that have had a ton of memorable lines; lines that get repeated in conversations and for the sake of humor around office coolers and at parties. I think my favorite line from any Hollywood movie comes from The Princess Bride (1987).
Now to be sure, The Princess Bride has supplied us with scads of one-liners that are memorable and useful in the banter of friendship. “As you wish!” “Inconceivable!” “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.” “Life isn’t fair, it’s just fairer than death, that’s all.” “Love is many things, none of them logical.” “Cynics are simply thwarted romantics.” “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
All of these lines hold a dear place in my heart, but all of them fail in the light of the best line in the movie. OK, you’ve waited long enough. Here it is:
“There’s a shortage of perfect breasts in the world. It would be a pity to damage yours.”
I love that line. I love it because Westley says it as he gazes at the love of his life. She is about to end it all, not knowing he’s in the room.
Perfect breasts. Maybe a more biblical way to say it, at least according to our verse for today, would be to call them, “breasts that satisfy you always.”
Now, I don’t know a lot about breasts. I’ve never owned any of my own. I’ve seen a fair amount, but I would not consider myself an expert on them.
I remember the first time I spent any time on an Italian beach. I woke up early and decided to go for a walk along the beach. There were thousands of people out to get some sun in the morning and I decided to walk through them to get some exercise and enjoy the sounds of the ocean.
To my surprise, my thirty-year-old eyes realized that very few of the women laying on the beach had concealed their breasts. There were breasts everywhere. It didn’t matter if they were 14 or 84 years old, the breasts were all out. I’d never seen anything like it. I must have seen 357 breasts that morning.
I got back to the hotel and told my wife about my eye opening experience. She asked me what I thought. I told her, “For the first ten minutes I was fascinated. Then, after a short period of time, a breast was just a breast. It lost all of its newness and appeal.”
I crawled into bed with my wife and confessed, “I saw 357 breasts today, but none of them do for me what yours do for me.” I could say that with all sincerity because there’s never been a time, at least since I met my wife, when I wanted to lay my head on anybody else’s breasts for comfort, for love, or for rest. I love my wife more than anybody I’ve ever met. I’m intoxicated with her love. And with her perfect breasts.
I’ve met a lot of people who feel the same as I do about their spouses. I know husbands whose wives have had to have their breasts operated on because of cancer. They still, along with me, would say, “There’s a shortage of perfect breasts in the world. It would be a shame to damage yours.”
May you find the rich deep love of a good life partner as you journey through this life.
Recalibrate: Think about and talk with someone today about the depth of love that happens as a result of a love that has developed over the years.
Respond: Pray these words: “Lord help me to see the beauty of long term love.”
Research: Read 50 Marriage Tips from Couples Who’ve Been Married for 50 Years by Julia Malacoff.
Remember: “For human ways are under the eyes of the Lord and He examines all their paths” (Proverbs 5:21, NRSV).
Mark Witas is the lead pastor at Sunnyside Adventist Church in Portland, Oregon.
Draw a big love heart on a mirror. With your little one, stand in front of the mirror so you are both in the heart. As you give your child a big hug tell them how much you love them. Who else do you love? Gather the family and the special toys and squish into the love heart on the mirror.
God’s love is big enough for everyone to fit. He does not squish us in for He is bigger than anything we can imagine. Think about all the people that you have seen today and know that God loves them. They are precious and treasured by Him. Leave the love heart on the mirror; we are going to use it tomorrow.
In this Chapter of Proverbs, a husband is being told about how he should treat his wife. How do you think husbands and wives should treat each other? How do you think friends should treat each other? What about how siblings should treat each other? Draw a picture of someone being kind to another person. Come up with three ways you can be kind to three different people this week.
In Proverbs 5:15, Solomon gives us an answer to the cliffhanger I left you on yesterday. I hope chewed over those questions a bit while you waited for more clarity, but if not, have no fear: Solomon is here to clear things up.
In this verse, and the ones that immediately follow it, Solomon breaks down how to keep your guard up and not be fooled by anyone seeking to take your treats and trick you into giving up your wisdom. His answer—to borrow from current culture—is “squad goals.”
For anyone not clear on what squad goals are, allow me to break it down using the definition I found on the trusty Internet: “inspirational term for what you’d like your group of friends to accomplish.”
You’ve got to have squad goals. You can’t just let the people around you get crazy and throw you and your friend circle into messy places. There has to be something that defines your group as a whole. A reason for you to keep spending time together. And a reason for you to maintain a friendship that will last.
Once your squad has their goals lined up, it’s up to you to keep each other accountable to those goals to make sure everyone wins together, and no one loses by being a part of the squad. After the goals are lined up, stick with your team and don’t worry about what anyone else is doing. Solomon says to “drink water from your own wells” knowing that nothing else is better than the squad you’ve got.
What are some of your squad’s goals? How might you go about making them if you don’t have them? How can building wisdom be a part of your squad’s plan?
I met my wife when I was a freshman in high school. We dated for a month and she dumped me the day after our school’s banquet. Fast forward to my freshman year of college—we began dating again and we never broke up. I always missed Annie when I dated other girls. She was always the “bride of my youth.”
Your story may be different. You may not have a boyfriend or girlfriend, and that may be what’s best for you right now. When you read verses from Proverbs like the text today, don’t let it pressure you into thinking you need someone right now.
Whether you are with someone or not, God is preparing the person you need, and He is preparing you! Focus on Him and develop that relationship. When we are in a relationship with God, we can be confident that all other relationships will come when the time is needed.
Zan Long is GRC director for faith development for ages 0-17. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and serves at her local church in nearby Kellyville.
Jessyka Dooley is assistant youth director for the Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Denver, Colorado.
J. Murdock is associate pastor at Boulder Adventist Church in Boulder, Colorado, where he focuses on youth and young adult ministry.
Kyle Smith is the associate pastor of youth and family ministries at New Haven Adventist Church in Overland Park, Kansas.