Sexual sin is a life ruiner. Indeed it’s a “killer” (in some ways literally, in other ways figuratively). The Apostle Paul says to kill sexual sin. Kill it before it kills you. Colossians 3:6–”Put to death therefore what is earthly within you: sexual immorality . . .”.
The words “put to death” mean the following:
- “kill”
- “refuse to obey”
- “deprive of power, destroy the strength of, render inoperative”
How do you kill sexual sin? Repent.
How do you refuse to obey it? You make it a laser-like focus of prayer. The first thing that hits the floor in the morning is your knees in pleas to God. Pray that He prepare you for the day’s temptations that will bombard you. Pray that He will give you the grace and desire to obey Him rather than the lure of sexual temptation.
How do you deprive it of power, destroy its strength, and render it inoperative? As my pastor said, you put as many obstacles between you and sexual sin as possible. You pull the plug and get rid of whatever is in your life that fosters sexual temptation.
Below are some ways I try to deprive the power and destroy the strength of sexual sin in my own life:
* My wife has full reign over my computer. She checks my e-mail. She views my Facebook. She has access to my mobile phone text messages.
* One of my ministry assistants can log into my computer from Nashville and surf my hard-drive and Internet history.
* I don’t allow myself to be in the room alone, with another woman. I don’t have “intimate” conversations with other women (even if their friends) about my life’s struggles nor do I offer an ear to their struggles. In other words I keep an emotional desk between us.
* Sometimes I unplug my hotel TV or have the hotel to cut off cable capabilities. At the least, I might set two channels on the remote—ESPN and a News channel.
* While traveling, I have a friend who calls me to basically say, “Jarrod, you have a wife who loves you and two precious boys. You have a beautiful family. Don’t ruin it.”
* I repeat the following mantra to myself when lust creeps within me, “Lust never satisfies!” When the girl appears on the billboard, or in the magazine, newspaper, or coffee shop and her clothes are just too tight or too short or too bare, I close my eyes, repeat the mantra, and either turn away or walk away.
* Often I reflect on how I don’t want to pass any generational sexual sin on to my sons through what I do in my own life.
