Song of Solomon 8:4- “Daughters of Jerusalem,
I charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”
I absolutely love ice
cream cakes from Dairy Queen! Imagine Laura bringing a mint chocolate chip ice
cream cake home one day for my birthday. And imagine my bday is on Wednesday
but it’s only Monday. Now, it would be crazy to open the box and taste just a
little of the delicious cream-based chocolatey frosting goodness if I knew that
cake was off limits until my big day. Why “arouse” or “awaken” my love for a
DQ’s ice cream cake if I couldn’t actually eat it?!
In the same way, because
of the enticing and pleasurable nature of sex, God does not want us to toy
around with it until we are in the right context to be able to enjoy it
(marriage!). Once a person “tastes” sex and what goes with it, it is all the
more difficult to control the passion it ignites from within. God wants us to
enjoy his gifts, not to experience feelings of guilt, remorse, and regret
afterward (like I would have had I eaten that cake before it was time!).
1 Corinthians 6:18-20- “Flee from sexual
immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins
sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple
of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not
your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
This passage tells us to
“flee” immorality. Get out of there, run, take cover! If you want to be a
healthy Christian, this is not optional. It is a command. If you don’t flee,
you will find yourself caught up in sin resulting in devastating consequences
that affect you and those around you.
Several years
back, 29eleven went out for a day of intense paintball action. It was a great
time of getting pummeled with paint flying at 200 miles per hour (yes, that’s
why you get welts!). What made the day especially exciting was that Mark
Hotaling came along to show us all how it’s done. Being an ex Navy SEAL, Mark
could probably kill you with his left pinkie.
It has been said that Mark Hotaling can win a game of Connect Four in only
three moves. Mark Hotaling does not sleep. He waits.
Well, give the man a paintball gun and his elite military training kicks into
action.
We broke into
two teams to play a deathmatch where the team with the last man standing would
be the victor. Of course, Mark happened to be on the other team and how it
happened, I’m not sure, but I managed to find myself in a one-on-one shoot off
with the SEAL. This would be a paintball war that would go down in 29eleven
infamy. Bible college grad vs. Navy SEAL. Coupon salesman vs. Special ops. With
flying paint, one of us would go down.
I found myself
in a bunker, approximately 25 yards from my target, who was strategically
positioned in a tree fort. As we exchanged fire for about 10 minutes, I felt a
twinge of confidence coming over me that I could take the SEAL down. I didn’t
need to call in back-up. I didn’t need to retreat to a safer place. I could do
this! From my vantage point, I could see that my paint was hitting the slats in
the tree house, spraying him with paint. With the right shot I would have
victory! Just as that fleeting thought hit me… WHAP!... so did Mark’s
paintball, right in the left eye of my safety glasses. Needless to say, I was
out of the game… and the reconnaissance specialist would be the winner.
This is the
perfect illustration of how we so often try to fight sexual temptation. Rather
than seeing danger and taking cover, we pridefully think we can handle it on
our own, trying to be some kind of hero. In my paintball experience, I should
have realized I was facing a situation I couldn’t manage on my own. In 1
Corinthians 6, we are told to run because Paul knows that on our own, we are no
match for the enemy. Satan is referred to as a “roaring lion looking for
someone to devour.” He likes to launch temptation our direction, hoping that we
will give in and be destroyed by sin.
When we choose
to fight temptation on our own, we often think that we are much stronger than
we really are. 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, “Therefore let him who thinks he
stands take heed that he does not fall.” Pride tells us we are stronger than we are. When we
believe that lie, it’s often then we find ourselves entrapped by sin. Humility
tells us we are too weak. When we believe it’s wise to flee, we find victory in
overcoming temptation by attaining purity. Proverbs 22:3 says, “A prudent man sees
danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” Are you going to be prudent and take
cover or foolish and try to fight temptation until it overtakes you?
These are just
a few verses that encourage us to be men and women who love Jesus by pursuing
purity. As Christians, we are to emulate Christ-likeness in the way we live our
lives, especially in the area of sexual purity. When a person asks the
question, “How far is too far?”, they are failing to see the seriousness of
sexual sin. Proverbs 7 describes the person yielding to sexual sin as one who
is being “led to the slaughter.” Since my dad is a pilot, I grew up around
small aircraft. On the tarmac, never once did I think “Hmm… look at that propeller…
I wonder how close I can get to it?” I knew how dangerous they can be and
stayed far away. Sexual sin is dangerous and we are called to flee temptation
so we don’t get caught in it.
So, instead of
asking the question, “How far is to far?”, we should be asking the following
questions:
• Are our actions
sexual in nature in any way, shape, or form? (Eph 5:3)
Remember that sexual
immorality is not just limited to intercourse. We are called to not even have a
“hint” of immorality in our lives. This includes anything that stirs up lust in
our hearts.
• Am I treating my
boyfriend/girlfriend in all purity, as a brother or sister in Christ? (1 Tim 5:1-2)
• Am I causing them to
lust, or helping them to avoid from being tempted? (Mt 5:28)
Is kissing a sin? The Bible does
not speak on this, but if kissing causes you to lust, than for you it is a sin.
What about passionate kissing? If we are honest with ourselves, this type of
kissing does stir up sexual
desire. I’ve never met anyone who can engage in passionate kissing and not be
tempted to go further. If you are not married, than it is wise to avoid certain
forms of kissing! And remember that love seeks to encourage the other person to
become more like Christ, not to entice them to sin. Even if you think you can
handle it, can the other person?
• Am I stirring up
passion that cannot be fulfilled? (SOS 2:7, 8:4)
• Do I think I’m
stronger than I really am? (1 Cor
10:6-12)
• Am I fleeing
temptation or toying with it? (1 Cor. 6:18-20)
Facing these
questions honestly is hard, because it will show us that even a “hint” is too
far! But let’s never forget that when God is saying “No!” to something, He is
really saying “Yes!” to something much greater! So, let’s all pursue purity in
our lives and avoid the slippery slope of sin… let’s run away when temptation
comes so we can experience the freedom of walking in obedience to our Lord and
Savior!
~AF
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