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Shun Shameful Conduct

Proverbs 10:23 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
²³Doing wickedness^[1] is like a sport to a fool,
but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.

Doing wickedness is like a sport to a fool: The Hebrew word (זִמָּה zimmah) rendered wickedness is referring to shameful behavior or conduct that is lewd and of a sexual nature. Sport renders the Hebrew word (שְׂחוֹק sechoq or שְׂחֹק sechoq), which can mean laughter. If so, here, it is brought about by the pleasure, that is, enjoyment and fondness in carrying out wicked acts that are shameful, lewd, and are of a sexual nature. Those who view shameful conduct as a sport are blind to the level of depravity of their course and ignore God as the one who will sit in judgment of this shameful, lewd behavior. (Romans 14:12) Such foolish ones become twisted in their thinking to the point where they do not believe in a God or if they do, they conclude that God cannot see nor really care about their conduct. They are, in effect, saying, ‘there is no God.’ (Psalm 14:1-3; Isaiah 29:15-16) Because the wisdom of God does not guide them, they lack discernment and, therefore, are incapable of judging matters correctly. – Proverbs 28:5.

but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding: Here there is the contrast in that the fool takes pleasure in his wrongdoing, while the righteous one finds pleasure in understanding, seeing how the parts or aspects of life are connected to one another, giving us the big picture. The man of understanding realizes that shameful, lewd behavior of a sexual nature is no sport at all. He knows from Scripture that it displeases God and that it will ruin his relationship with God. The foolishness of such conduct is in the fact that it robs one of their self-respect, destroys marriages, and brings harm to both the mind and the body, as well as ruining spirituality. Therefore, we need to acquire understanding and wisdom and avoid the shameful, lewd, immoral conduct of the world. – Proverbs 5:1-23.

The book of Proverbs alone can help us acquire understanding and wisdom, and use discernment to avoid shameful behavior. If we look at what a person likes and dislikes, we discover his true personality. The man who sees shameful, lewd, immoral conduct as a sport or a game, feeding his fleshly nature for pleasure, immediate gratification. These ones are not capable of seeing the big picture. In other words, sexual misconduct might be fun, and pleasurable at the moment, but all wickedness has a price eventually that will have to be paid. How foolish! So, as the foolish, wicked person finds his sport in making trouble, the man of understanding finds his most genuine feeling of satisfaction and delight in wisdom.

[1] That is, shameful behavior that is lewd and of a sexual nature