A Narrow Pit

Proverbs 23:27-28

For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.

 

(Yikes.)

A woman is not an object.  She is neither to be possessed nor used, bought nor sold.  Any that should seek a woman for his own sake, as a treasure box for his own wealth or a vehicle for his own pleasure, will never be able to dig deep enough to find what he wants, will always be thirsty in his confined pursuit for satisfaction.  It’s a never-ending maze in a darkness that blinds, deafens and numbs those who repeatedly bump against the walls.

 

This trap is set by selfish desire and ensnares all who indulge.  And the trap is not avoided by proper obedience to rules of conduct or any willed restraint for fear of losing health, wealth, or sanity.  A woman can be objectified without lying a hand on her, without coming into any contact with her flesh.  From afar, minds dig into her, pulling piece by piece, thoughts salivating over the stripped carcass of a meal.  And no guilt and no punishment sets anyone free.

 

A human person is a wondrous creature of flesh and spirit married as one.  There is no disjointing of one from the other.  As glass is a fusion of earth and fire, so, too, a human – a man, a woman – spun from the hands of God.  To objectify a person is to shatter both humans, both the luster and the target of lust, it is to un-create, to destroy, that whom was created by love.  With and in love a human comes into being and only with and in love can one be fulfilled.  To heed anything other than love, to aim lower than the heart, is to be stuck in a ditch, to flounder in a narrow pit.  For the heart of the person is the core of her being, the essence of her reality, the seat of love, the seat of God, wherein human and divine abide as one.

 

God invites life to dwell within the matter God created, an invitation of love.  God’s mind is for the other, God’s gift of self is unconditional and complete.  Generosity… Compassion… Respect.  To truly love is to love as God loves, for we are only able to love because God first loves us.  To love a woman, then, is to see her and not merely to look at her – and to will to be seen by her.  And in this vision, one sees God’s precious beloved one in whom dwells – not pleasure, possessions, power, or honor – but the universe.  Not for the sake of the one who sees, but for the sake of the one who is… for the Other.

Christina Chase