03/01/2023
Our son-in-law can sit still for only so long. Once while he was visiting us, he reached his sedentary limit, so he grabbed his basketball and went out to the hoop in our backyard. Now, it is a primitive basketball setup, with a homemade wooden backboard made of several boards affixed to a tree. He was working up a sweat out there, shooting and dribbling, when suddenly he noticed a big bee buzzing around his head. He realized it had come from around the hoop and the backboard. Upon closer inspection, he saw a beehive there. Apparently those bees were not happy about that basketball causing repeated hive quakes, and they were starting to respond. Now, Rick told me he knew what to do. He didn't try to ignore the bees and keep playing. He didn't try to kill the bees. He ran into the house as fast as he could. Let's take a God-moment about . . .
KNOWING WHEN IT’S TIME TO RUN
Our word from the Word of God comes from 2 Timothy 2:22. "Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace." Lots of people end up in s*xual sins they thought they would never commit. Very few people of character plan to fall into s*xual sin, whether it's going farther than God's and their standards would allow, premarital s*x, or adultery.
I once began a radio program talking about statistics of how many young people have had premarital s*x. Soon afterwards, a young radio listener wrote to me, pouring out her heart. She said, "Until a month ago, I never dreamed I would be one of those statistics." She went on about how she had made a series of choices that brought her into a situation where she was vulnerable and where there was an opportunity to sin. She never wanted to, she never planned to, but she did, and now she was really hurting. It was a heartbreaking letter. This verse addresses how to avoid that: "Flee the evil desires of youth."
There are three things we can do with s*xual temptation. First, we can flirt with it. This would be like our son-in-law, Rick, if he'd climbed on a ladder, inspecting that beehive and seeing how close he could get without getting stung. That would be dumb, and it is dumb when we try to do that with s*xual temptation. The Bible calls s*xual desire "fire in your lap." That's pretty explicit language to describe how we are only going to get burned if we flirt with fire.
The second thing we can do is fight s*xual temptation. This would have Rick staying out there, still shooting his baskets, just trying to swat or kill every bee. Sexual desire will almost always ultimately win, unless we get away from it. It will overpower us if we allow ourselves to be in a situation where we can dwell on it, act on it, or be around it for very long.
The third thing we can do is what the Bible says to do. Flee from it. Be realistic. Do not underestimate s*xual temptation or our ability to fall. Don't get anywhere close to it. We are never going to win morally unless we get as far from s*xual temptation as possible. The girl in that letter spoke for millions who have had s*x before marriage or outside their marriage vows. She said, "It just isn't worth it."
So get rid of any input that feeds your lust, whether a videotape, music, magazines, humor, or television. Avoid settings where you are alone with someone of the opposite s*x for any extended time. Change what you're doing at the first thought of anything wrong. Rick was smart. He knew you don't flirt with or even fight something that can really sting you. He ran. That's the way to win against temptation. Too many people have already been stung.
(This is an excerpt from "Start Your Trip With A Full Tank" by Ron Hutchcraft)
