Choose God's virtuous reality by turning away from the harlot

A man’s eyes are fatally attracted to temporary and immediate pleasures if his heart is not fixed on obeying God. The immeasurable and infinite ability to reach out and give from the hands of the creator of the universe is never found in any premise of selfish sound thinking when the desires of people's hearts are leading the innocents astray. Wisdom cannot direct the steps of a fool that ignores HaShem’s spirit.

The fool and his money

Where there’s a market, there’s a seller. The business of evil is to market despair and hopelessness and then prepare a feast that will satisfy enough for one day until you hunger for more. It’s never able to fully satisfy. You try to fill up with as much as possible knowing that it isn't enough but the greed of the moment creates dissatisfaction as soon as reality sets in. The over stimulation of virtual reality has promised to bring that wealth of pleasure to us through a small screen surrounded reality gone dark. Expect it to be popular.

And I saw among the naive,
         And discerned among the youths
         A young man lacking sense,
Passing through the street near her corner;
         And he takes the way to her house,
In the twilight, in the evening,
         In the middle of the night and in the darkness. [Proverbs 7:7-9]

The temptress without a last name

A harlot is a woman that imitates a wife. She is more glamorous, sexier, and has no association to your world so there’s no personal responsibility to her. Part of her attraction is the isolation of her world from yours. You only use first names. You should find out more about her family. But she is always beckoning to come to her, sitting in full view of your life, waiting for you to think of her as a solution to your problems. She lies about how satisfied she is when you go to her, how you are one of the best men in the land, and looks only to take your money.

In the harlot’s heart, whether web site or woman, the call of rebellion is forever being broadcast from that tower of desirability. You forget God’s simple blessings and seek to please her so she comes to you. The call is made in all corners of the world, from the business board room to advertising campaigns, from the life of the conquering athlete to the life of demi-gods of entertainment screens.

And those same sirens are now members in our congregation leading people to worship in any format with any words, rebelling against the commandments, and putting the entertainment value of holiness above that of the rewards of a righteous man. No, I will not have a discussion of the latest religious film with you in place of prayer. Yes, I will discuss what God has done for you as a praise for his goodness.

And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
         Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.
She is boisterous and rebellious,
         Her feet do not remain at home;
She is now in the streets, now in the squares,
         And lurks by every corner.
So she seizes him and kisses him
         And with a brazen face she says to him:
“I was due to offer peace offerings;
         Today I have paid my vows. [Proverbs 7:10-14]

The temporary fix

The harlot of religion replaces mere faith with a more desirous outcome for the one praying in their seats. It’s sexier to have entertainment and sudden flashes of supernatural events only when you are in her presence. She tantalizes you with fashionable clothes, silken phrases and a house made of jeweled lights and expensive paneling. Yes, she’ll listen to your prayer and promise you that your satisfaction is near, but wants to make sure that your money is here today.

She deceives you with promises to love and requires you to show your faith so you return to her when your problems need solving. “You really are a good person. God loves you.” she says and thinks nothing of you as you drive off from the parking lot knowing that it’s but a trick to  put a hook in your gill with a long line only to grow taut next week. When will you help me fix my family?

Advertising the lie

How sad it is for the fate of the modest wife whose worth and beauty is not appreciated because the sparkle of the cheap and easy becomes the only thing we recognize as valuable. She puts on expensive pearls only to be outdone by bright ethnic colored jewelry in attention demanding shapes. She wears a modest handmade lace and linen white dress only to be outdone by the ruffled yards of lavish red satin wrapped around and cut away to reel in a customer making a quick glance.

“Therefore I have come out to meet you,
         To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you.
“I have spread my couch with coverings,
         With colored linens of Egypt.
“I have sprinkled my bed
         With myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.
“Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;
         Let us delight ourselves with caresses. [Proverbs 7:15-18]

Less is more

The more you stay in the presence of the harlot, the less you can appreciate the simple and deep qualities of the gifts of God. The more you look at other women to find a more pleasurable image to admire, the less you are able to enjoy one with a spirit from God who is a real gift from God. The brighter light you stand in, the more blinded you are to color and shading. Aren't the small blessings of life under God's wing each day with their enormous variety better than one giant miracle of rising to heaven and returning to a gray world?

The more you want colorful fireworks lasting but several seconds, the less you try to comprehend the amazing almost hidden miracle of a barely tinted star that is one of 70 billion trillion burning hydrogen into helium over billions of years. The more you see films and read books of unworthy people satisfied by coincidental fulfillment of their base desires, the more you want to believe it’s your right and privilege to be rewarded with riches and fame. Who’s writing those scripts and books? People who have believed the lies and serve to keep them alive by often changing the costume of the harlot. They seek the payment of the harlot and will come to no good end like the one who is their customer.

With her many persuasions she entices him;
         With her flattering lips she seduces him.
Suddenly he follows her
         As an ox goes to the slaughter,
         Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,
Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
         As a bird hastens to the snare,
         So he does not know that it will cost him his life. [Proverbs 7:21-23]

Blessed is He who has taken my life from the mire of the world and brought it out from the marketplace of the harlot. May God be pleased by how we seek to find the mysteries of His world and prepare a clean place in our heart that He might be welcome. The penniless victims of the harlot’s accounts have fallen silent and I will lift a voice to the heavens to bring justice to them. May we lead as many as we can away from the chambers of death while we can speak a word of life to each other to follow God’s commandments.