Poison
Sexual temptation is the bane of our day. Whether it’s internet porn or commercials on prime-time television, sex permeates every pore of our society. What was once the sexual revolution of the 1960s is now the standard for the twenty-first century. And infidelity among Christians is, dare I say, common. Yet, we hear little about this poison that is weakening and destroying the faith of so many followers of Jesus.
There is a great need to come clean and to be more transparent about sexual temptation in our lives as Christians. Sex is a God-given, powerful gift that binds two spirits together as one. This is both a blessing and a curse of sex, depending on how we fulfill our sexual needs and urges.
Alice Cooper sings about this sexual temptation and battle in his song, “Poison.” You can listen to it with the lyrics here.
“You’re poison running through my veins; you’re poison, I don’t wanna break these chains.”
Alice and his wife, Cheryl, have been married for 46 years. They have an incredible testimony of faith, and you can listen to it here. But I can only imagine, as a rock ’n roll heavyweight, the temptations Coop, as his friends call him, has faced.
“I wanna taste you, but your lips are venomous poison.”
“I wanna love you but I better not touch. I wanna hold you but my senses tell me to stop. I don’t wanna break these chains. I don’t wanna break these chains.”
“Poison” is a worship song that parallels the warnings of Proverbs, which in so many places warns of the poison of sexual infidelity.
“The lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her words are smoother than oil, in the end, she’s as bitter as wormwood and as sharp as a double-edged sword.” (Pv. 5:3-4)
Many years ago, I confided in my father-in-law (a pastor and godly man) about my struggles with lust and a wandering eye. He acknowledged that he had struggled with this same problem in his life. “But Dan,” he said, “you have to make up your mind not to go there.”
I took his advice and combined it with the memorization of Scripture and by enlisting my wife as my accountability and prayer partner. To this day, I occasionally quote the words of Proverbs 5:15-19 to my wife. And it’s with those words I close today -
Drink water from your own cistern, water flowing from your own well,
Should your springs flow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?
They should be for you alone and not for you to share with strangers.
Let your fountain be blessed, and take pleasure in the wife of your youth.
A loving doe, a graceful fawn - let her breasts satisfy you always; be lost in her love forever. (HCSB)
In Christ,
Dan
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