Proverbs 23:26-30

Proverbs 23:26-30
English Standard Version
26 My son, give me your heart,
    and let your eyes observe my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a deep pit;
    an adulteress is a narrow well.
28 She lies in wait like a robber
    and increases the traitors among mankind.

​29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
    Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
    Who has redness of eyes?
30 Those who tarry long over wine;
    those who go to try mixed wine.

---

It is an act of the will on the part of the son to want to hear and understand what the parents (especially the father, in this case) is trying to teach him.  Solomon therefore asks his son to give not just his ear, but his heart to what Solomon is trying to say.  Don't just hear the words but hear the intent behind him--how Solomon longs for good things for his son and doesn't want any of the bad things to come his son's way.  He also doesn't want his son to make the same mistakes that he made.   Solomon also wants his son to watch him as an example (hopefully as a good example now) of how to walk in the paths of righteousness.

Solomon warns that if his son strays from the path because of seductive women that they are simply bait for traps that are laid for his soul.  They are not what they appear to be, but they are in reality thieves and robbers who take what is most valuable and you can never replace. 

Solomon then says that the world lies to people about finding happiness and the answers to your problems in the bottom of a glass of wine or in strong drink.  No, these only multiply the pain and suffering that someone is already going through.  They are not the answer.  Be careful because the substance you abuse often times becomes your master and you are its slave.