I’m back, live and in person. Well, at least in print. After posting some repeats over the past few weeks, we are going to begin a new series of discussions. Since I last posted a new Man to Man, I have spent a week in the boundary waters of Minnesota, spent two weeks of vacation with my wife, and ended it all by breaking my foot and wearing a boot for 6 weeks. Never a dull moment!
As I’ve been praying and thinking about where to go next with these posts, I have been unable to get away from the topic of moral purity. I believe this is true for many reasons. One, I feel this is the direction in which our Lord is taking us. Another is the rapid decline of the moral climate of our society that may be desensitizing many and causing us to lessen our standards to “fit in”. And finally, because it is an ongoing struggle in my own life to keep my thoughts and actions pure before our Lord. I realize all to often that my sinful nature is constantly pulling for control, and I must purposefully and actively work with God’s Spirit to combat that influence.
Satan knows where to attack men. He knows how to attack us, and because he has been watching us through his army of evil angels, knows our personal weak spots. He is relentless in his efforts to draw us into thoughts and actions that are ungodly. His only purpose is to cause pain for God our Father. The Evil One knows that the only way he can hurt the almighty God is to hurt his children. Therefore, we become pawns to be played in the spiritual warfare between God and Satan. In these attacks, it is not only God who will be harmed. Moral failure destroys families and other relationships. They also destroy any opportunity we may have to spiritually encourage others. The damage can be devastating, and we will deal with the consequences for the rest of our lives.
This is why Scripture has such strong admonitions concerning our life choices. 1 Peter 5:8 warns us with these words, Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. The imagery is frightening. The attack of a lion will not simply cause a bit of discomfort, but will totally destroy the person who suffers it. This is the danger of allowing Satan to get a foothold in our lives through moral compromise.
God does not leave us alone in this battle. In fact, the war has been won. Satan is ultimately defeated but is not going down quietly. Therefore, we need to be on our guard.
Over the next few posts, we will look at the Bible’s answer to two questions. “How do I avoid falling into moral compromise? How do I get out of it, if I have already fallen?”
I’m going to be frank. The statistics show that Satan is gaining ground in this area, even among men who are Christ followers. The percentages of men addicted to pornography in our nation is staggering. The number of families that are destroyed by unfaithfulness is increasing. If you have not faced the temptation of moral sin to this point in your life, I can almost guarantee you will at some point. The Apostle James gives us God’s warning, Be alert and of sober mind. We will win this battle, but only with effort and purpose.