A Plan For Purity

“Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.” (Proverbs 2: 11, 16-17).
The area in men most vulnerable to Satan’s attacks is sexual purity. Our adversary knows that we are usually weakest here, and he sets a game plan in place designed to make us fall. Because of our past failures and infidelities, Satan knows our shortcomings as well as we do. We must prepare ourselves for his attack, because it will be tailor-made to appeal to the lusts of our flesh. God says that discretion will preserve us and understanding will keep us. The word discretion can also be translated as “a plan.” “[A plan] shall preserve thee.” Do we have a plan to protect our sexual purity? Temptation will come: it’s only a matter of time. Are we prepared to avoid the flattering woman, who seeks to entice us with her enchantments? Will we permit other godly men to hold us accountable to purity? Will we protect our minds by using filtered internet service and by asking the front desk clerk to block adult movies from our hotel room? Will we starve our eyes from other women, so that we can fast our eyes on our wives alone? The key to sexual purity is to allow Jesus to meet our every need and to heal us where we are most vulnerable to temptation. “When Christ ceases to fill the heart with satisfaction, our souls will go in silent search of other lovers.” (Maurice Roberts).