Sexual temptation is not necessarily something that swoops down on us like a hawk when we’re vulnerable. Circumstances may conspire to prompt our moral failure but often we ourselves are partly to be blamed. The ability of temptation to exert its power over us is actually decided much earlier – in our hearts.
In the first place, are we dead serious about preserving our moral purity? Do we fear God enough to want to honour Him in all areas, including our bodies?
If so, we would have put in place measures to shore up our defenses even before temptation strikes. So the moment it hits us, we would know how to deal with it – and hopefully escape unscathed.
There’s no point praying for strength if you are walking towards sexual temptation or indirectly acquiescing to it.
You must mean serious business. In practice this might mean surfing in an open area or clicking away from a sexually enticing image. Or giving up the habit of frequenting karaoke joints with bad company as this corrupts good character (1 Corinthians 15:33).
When Joseph was tempted to sleep with Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:7), he fled. Had he lingered on, he wouldn’t have the strength to resist the wiles of this femme fatale. Many lesser men had become her victims whenever she batted her eyelids, flicked her hair and twirled it round her fingers.
While temptation is not sin, the line demarcating the two is so thin that it’s wise to nip it in the bud – while we’re still able to. We cannot stop the birds from flying over our heads but we can prevent them from nesting on our heads. Leave – no, you must run – while you’re still strong enough.
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