Mind Meld of A Different Kind

PROVERBS 2:16-19
Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman,
from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman.
She has abandoned her husband
and ignores the covenant she made before God.
Entering her house leads to death;
it is the road to the grave.
The man who visits her is doomed.
He will never reach the paths of life.

Seduced
The Bible is full of examples of men who faced sexual temptation. Some were successful in resisting, (Joseph) others were not (Judah). While it is easy to get caught up in the blame game, “she made me do this,” the same technique Adam used in the garden, I have found it is not very helpful. When we fall into sin, including sexual sin, we must acknowledge our sin as our own, not somebody else’s.

The writer of Proverbs places much of the blame on the seductive woman, but places all the responsibility on the young man. In a culture that loves to place blame on everything and everyone but me, we would be wise to shift our focus from who is guilty to who is responsible. I am responsible to stay clear of temptation.

The bad news is that I do not have the strength to stay clear of temptation on my own. I repeatedly face temptations that are enticing except for the power of God at work in my life. God promises that I will never be tempted beyond what I can bear, and that there will always be a way out. I cannot count the number of times where I faced temptation and God has sent another person, a verse of Scripture, a song, or an emergency that shifted my focus from the temptation back to God.

Father of redirection and escape, I thank you for sending escape routes for me to follow when I am tempted. I am so dependent on you, and you never let me down. Forgive me when I refuse your escapes and fall into sin, focus my eyes off from the temptations of life onto the Light of the World. – Dan Jones

Everyday sexual choices
Did King Solomon’s son (think wealthy and powerful prince) have women available for his sexual conquest? Certainly. Were there married women, unhappily “stuck” with a man in arranged marriages who would have longed for a night in the prince’s arms? Sure. Perhaps Tom Cruise or England’s Prince William can identify with this scenario. I can’t.

But I can identify with sexual temptation.

What do I do when a seductive female figure seeks to lure me into her internet home (I’m a heterosexual guy, so like Solomon I have to think in terms of women) or when a little understood but nonetheless powerful attraction whispers “what if” into my mind and appeals to my God-given sexual drive.

The answer is simple and straightforward. “Don’t go visiting” and “Tell yourself the truth”.
Refuse to click on the image that popped up despite the best internet filters. Refuse to interact with the “what if” thought. Put into place road blocks around sexual temptation such as accountability partners including spousal accountability. Even more important, I must fill each day with strong and spiritually healthy practices such as time in the Bible (that’s what I’m doing now), prayer, and service, and spiritual fellowship.

Telling myself the truth is as important as making sure I don’t go visiting. Solomon alludes to truth telling in his final observation, “He will never reach the paths of life”. In a culture that insists that my primary identity is sexual, I must remind myself that sexual identity, orientation, and expression, of any kind, will never lead to life. Orgasm certainly equals enjoyable, but it never equals, nor is required for life lived to the full.

I made these decisions yesterday, and the day before, and…

But those choices are gone. I must make these choices again today. In fact, as long as I live with this mortal and sin-susceptible body, I must make such decisions daily.

God of beauty and purity, by your grace and moment-by-moment strength, I will continue to make the no visiting and truth telling choices. Unlike Solomon, I will remain faithful to the wife of my youth and look to you alone for life. – Mike Leamon