The Word from the Top – Part 5

“You shall not commit adultery. Exodus 20:14

The seventh commandment says, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But Jesus takes it one step further by saying, ‘Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery…in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better…to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell’ (Matthew 5:28-29). You’re not responsible for what you see, but you are responsible for what you continue to look at. Paul told Timothy, ‘Flee…youthful lusts’ (2 Timothy 2:22 ); and James writes, ‘After desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death’ (James 1:15). Immorality in practice or in thought can result in the death of your marriage, your self-respect, your influence, and your joy. In ‘The Door’, theologian Mike Yaconelli writes: ‘Author Susan Howatch made a fortune writing blockbuster novels…She had houses in several countries, drove a Porsche, and after divorcing had a number of “transient liaisons”. But at age thirty, she said, “God seized me by the scruff of the neck and shook me until my teeth rattled.” Now a Christian, she reflects: “I was promiscuous, but finally one morning I woke up and said, ‘What am I trying to prove, and to whom?’ I knew exactly what—that even though my marriage broke up I could still attract men. The fact that I could control men boosted my fractured ego.” What was her conclusion? Promiscuity is a sign you’re not aligned right with God or yourself.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to be aligned right with You through Jesus Your Son. In His Name, Amen