Throwing Gasoline on the Fire

by Bryant Wright
DESCRIPTION

If you turn your thoughts over to the Lord, you will be able to have the power to resist temptation.
"But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (1 Corinthians 10:13 niv)

You can’t avoid it, no matter how hard you try. Television commercials, the Internet, billboards on the road, window displays in the mall, even magazines in the supermarket checkout line—we are constantly assaulted with sexual images everywhere we turn. These media and cultural assaults are like throwing gasoline on the fire. They make it even more challenging to live a life that is pleasing to God.

Notice that I said these things add gasoline to the fire—the “fire” is already there. Even if we lived alone on a desert island with no TV, no computer, no magazines, nobody else there, we would still struggle with the lusts of the flesh. We would still wrestle with our thought lives. We will always struggle with attitudes and drives that are displeasing to God! Avoiding outside temptations is certainly important in avoiding sin, but recognize that the real problem begins—and ends—with how we deal with temptation inside our own minds. We can’t stop being tempted, and temptation is not sin. Jesus was tempted in every way we are. But don’t flirt with it. Show real courage and run from it. Ask the Lord to help you turn your thoughts over to Him, and you will be able to have the power to resist temptation.