Get Out of There
Get Out of There
“Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves.” (Matt. 10:16)
Know Your Weaknesses
Gentlemen, let’s face the facts: sexual temptation is rampant in our society. From the titan of Internet pornography to the hoards of suggestive shows, from the covers of supermarket magazines to the prevalence of adulterous affairs, the slippery slope of sexual immorality lies all around us.
And many of us, at one time or another, sink neck deep in the filth. Regarding sexual purity, we can be nothing more than whitewashed tombs—clean by appearance, vile within. How are we to live “as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves”? How can world-savvy men live with innocence? Three words . . .
Cut and Run
In specific reference to adultery and lust, Christ said to cut off the cause (see Matt. 5:27–30). While your eye or hand is not the cause or source of sexual temptation, Christ taught that nothing is to come between us and purity. So cut off the flirtatious relationship with the woman at work. Move your computer to the living room, ask your wife to manage “parental controls,” or cut off the Internet. “For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell” (v. 30). As Joseph fled from Potiphar’s wife, we too are to “run from sexual immorality!” (1 Cor. 6:18). Against some evils you stand and fight; not so with lust. Run from it!
Bottom Line
Sexual temptation is a stumbling block for most men. We must acknowledge our weakness and follow His guidance: cut and run.