5:1-2 We give our attention to many things during the day; how often do we give our attention to what scripture has to say? Proverbs' emphatic mission is to encourage us to train ourselves to consider God's wisdom throughout our day. God's experience with humanity has enabled Him to give truly good and effective advice. He helps us navigate away from making poor decisions and into making the right ones. In decisions. Relationships. Conversations. Actions.
5:3-6 Proverbs is vehement to mention that the wrong decisions are often dressed in honey. They sometimes seem like the faster, richer, more satisfying option but will ultimately destroy good things and opportunities. God teaches us to build and recognize strong foundations, so that as we move throughout life, we have stable conditions.
5:7-9 Therefore, listen to what God has to say instead of what temptation has to say. There are things that we want and need but the way to obtain them is through the philosophy of God rather than through the way of the world. God wants us to be patient and kind and brave; He teaches us to build big, complex, rich things steadily over time.
5:10-14 God teaches us how not to give ourselves over to others' control and ideas. When we declare ourselves as His, we adopt a new lifestyle of freedom from the agenda of others. It's actually dangerous for us to ignore God's advice; rejecting His advice causes us to miss opportunities and to accept the wrong ones, even though they felt right at the time.
5:15-20 To source of courage, inspiration and compassion from the well of God is to be independent of the world and others who do not feed us good things through their influence. Our relationship with God should be steadfast and loyal; when it is we have an everlasting soul-deep nourishment. God wants us to be in love in life rather than in lust in the world.
God teaches us to recognize false and cheap relationships with things and people. He teaches us to remove those things, that clutter, from our lives to open them up for blessings.
5:21-23 God watches and knows His people; He has known us since our inception, therefore His experience is invaluable. He has seen it all, every way, and has charted the best course for us. Lack of instruction causes folly and folly iniquity and iniquity the death of the soul. God teaches us to learn and grow and live.
