Knowing When To Run Away
"Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body." - 1 Corinthians 6:18
How can we successfully deal with sexual temptation? Perhaps the best way is to avoid it in the first place. Here are some ideas to help you do that.
1. Stay out of vulnerable situations. You know, when Jesus teaches us to pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," He's really asking us to pray in a way that we start making decisions that give us a better chance of avoiding temptations. What are vulnerable situations? A teenage boyfriend and girlfriend in the home where the parents are not. Having no blocks on your computer or having that computer in a private place where nobody else sees it but you. Or staying late at the office alone with a person of the opposite sex. Avoid temptations by avoiding dangerous situations such as these.
2. Don't see people as objects of sexual desire. See people as made in the image of God, to show them respect and to show them love—not to show them lust! But show genuine, Christian love. Remember—garbage in and garbage out. How we view others has a great impact on how we think and what we do.
3. Use this foolproof strategy. Here is the ultimate key: When it comes to issues of sexual immorality, sensuality and impurity, ask yourself, "Would I be embarrassed if Jesus saw me doing this or thinking this?" Because remember. He does see you. Always.
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2 Comments
Thanks for this reminder that the triune God, Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit, serve as accountability partners for us every moment of our lives. I think people rarely give that a thought in our culture. Children are probably more often taught to be good because Santa is watching rather than Jesus. People outgrow Santa but they never outgrow Jesus. I think a lot of bad behavior would be corrected in our society if people could take this message of Jesus watching seriously and care about what He thinks. - Janice
Dr. Gary Smalley has a great book on this subject (of keeping your thoughts pure) called "Change Your Heart, Change Your Life". You do it by mainly "hiding God's word in your heart" and calling on it whenever temptation calls.
- ray hagan