Men, we need more frank conversation about sexual temptation.
I have suggested in previous articles that the heart of immodest dress in women is the disrespectful control of men and the heart of lust in men is the insensitive lack of love for women. Perhaps the extreme example of this in our times is Pamela Anderson, formerly of the popular TV series Baywatch, who has lured millions of men to her website to gaze upon her body. If we are to take Jesus’ words literally in Matthew 5:28, Pamela Anderson has had sex with tens of millions of men. I am not sure there is a word in any language the world around for a woman such as this or the men that would use her, save the words of Christ for us all, “forgive them for they don’t know what they do.” We honestly do not know what we do, for we have slaughtered love and respect in favor of lust and seduction. Friends, sex is a wonderful gift, but we must care for this wonderful gift by the instructions of the one who gave it.
Consider a story…
A good king ruled his kingdom and he loved cherry pie. In fact this was the very king who invented cherry pie. He especially loved to see beautiful young maidens serve tasty cherry pie to handsome (and hungry) young men. But because he loved this so much he also established a simple rule in order to insure that this blessed dessert would not be mistreated and that everyone would get served. The king required that the young men eat the meat and potatoes of COMMITMENT to one young woman first and then eat ONLY her cherry pie for dessert. The rule seemed fair enough, but sadly the king hater, who also hated faithfulness and waiting for dessert, began to whisper to the young men and women and they listened to him. One young man forsook self-control and ate a whole cherry pie before the meat and potatoes and that without permission. He totally abandoned love for the young maiden and thought only of her pie, selfishly eating it without permission leaving her violated and broken. Another young woman forsook respect and waved her cherry pie in front of the young men without offering any meat and potatoes leaving them all in a wretched state. Yet another young man and woman both spurned the king’s command and conspired together and ate the cherry pie before the meat and potatoes. The good king was deeply saddened but also was a forgiving king and already had a plan to repair the damage done as well as remove the one who hated him and hated waiting for dessert. However, because the king was also a father he punished the young men and women severely to teach them to love and respect him and each other so they could learn to serve and eat cherry pie according to his rule with thankfulness.The end.
Solomon, however, puts it more frankly. “Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent… all at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose,” (Proverbs 7:10, 22 NIV).
American culture today honors the prostitute while we blindly send ourselves to the slaughter. We have reached new levels of insanity as women parade their sexuality before men, and men encourage women to set traps of lust leading us to death by adultery. Christian woman how are you dressed and what is your intent? Christian man who are you following and where are you stepping? Sad as our nation is will Christians hold on to the good news that Christ has paid for all our sin as well as Pamela’s? So whether we are Pamela, a Pamela user, or some other kind of sinner altogether the ground is level at the foot of the cross.
