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What’s Stopping You?

As a fan of Star Trek, I loved watching their interactions with the Borg. For those who are not familiar with the Borg, they were a collective of species whose primary purpose was to assimilate technology for their own advancement. They would say, “resistance is futile” to their potential foes because they knew they confident of triumph.

When it comes to temptations, I think most of us succumb to them because we too think “resistance is futile.” We see, we feel, we act and then we feel guilty.

Of all the temptations out there, the one I believe to be the greatest threat to the church today is porn. It is one of those temptations and sins everybody knows exists but nobody wants to talk about. Recent statistics show that 60% of men in churches today watch porn online every month.

What a terrible thing it is when believers fall into sexual sin. After David fell into sin with Bathsheba, the prophet Nathan said to him in 2 Samuel 12:14, “By this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme.” In other words, “David, you just gave ammunition to the enemy.”

I wish Christians would think about that before they sin. Joseph did. When Potiphar’s wife made her advances, Joseph understood there were consequences to sin.

In Genesis 39:9, he responded to her advances and said, “There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has [Potiphar] kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Joseph was loyal to Potiphar. Of course, Potiphar would end up betraying Joseph. But Joseph wouldn’t betray Potiphar.

Joseph could have rationalized it. Hey, man, I had a rough childhood. I was sold into slavery by my brothers. I am here all alone in Egypt. It’s hard being alone. Egyptian culture – that is the way it is here. It doesn’t really matter.

He could have said a lot of things, but Joseph understood that God’s standards are absolute. They don’t change. He also realized that all sin is against God. This should be our strongest deterrent against sin – not merely our fear of the repercussions. The greatest deterrent against sin is loving God. If you love God, you want to do things that honour Him.

In a recent conversation with another believer about struggling with a particular life issue, I said to him, “Is whatever that is hindering you greater than that which motivates you?” I think that is what it comes down to.

I like this statement of Augustine’s: “Love God and do as you please.” If you really love God as you ought to, with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind, then you will only want to do what pleases Him. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

God’s desire is for His followers to live lives holy and dedicated to Him. May we see God as our primary motivation for living the holy life. In making Him our focus, we not only honour Him but proclaim Him by demonstrating the power of God to overcome sin and temptation in our lives.

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