Fighting to Find the Benefits and Blessings of Purity
Guest Blog Post By Sheri Rose Shepherd
Bestselling Author and Bible Life Coach
(Disclaimer: what I have seen from Sheri Rose Shepherd has been very good, including this article. I don't know enough about her to heartily endorse her so I encourage my readers to do their own research)
When I was a new Christian, it never occurred to me to change the way I dressed or flirted; after all, I was single, so why shouldn't I dress the way I wanted and get whatever attention I could? I had worked hard to lose over fifty pounds and get in shape. I was finally thin for the first time.
Then one day, about a year into my walk with God, my young singles pastor came up to me after our church service and politely asked me if I could come to church dressed more modestly. He told me I was distracting him and some of the young men in our group from focusing on God. I know it took every ounce of courage he had to confront me and help me understand how men struggle, and even though I was a bit embarrassed and slightly offended, I'm glad he took a chance and told me the truth.
We have no idea the major internal battle that goes on inside our men when it comes to women. The truth is, sex and women hold the key to unlock a beast inside of them. Deep down inside, our men are screaming for some relief from all the overstimulation and sensual battles that war against their souls every day. Even those men who desire purity are forced to fight for it because of all the women who flirt and flash their flesh to get attention. Even our beloved King David, a warrior who was strong enough to stand before a giant, could not withstand temptation when he saw Bathsheba naked in the bathtub. The interesting thing about this story is that Bathsheba was unaware she was even tempting David. Bathsheba was in her own home, taking a bath in her own yard, but when David's eyes saw her flesh, he lost his strength and forgot who he was: a God-appointed king. Once he lost his moral compass, he lost his senses. He caved to his craving for her and then set up her husband to be killed on the battlefield so his own sin wouldn't be exposed.
David's moment of weakness had tragic consequences as the baby conceived by Bathsheba died. But even more tragic was that a piece of David's soul died that day, and the passion he once had to be a heroic man never did fully return. Our hearts' desire is for men to know how to connect to our hearts, but we make it difficult for them when we blind them with our bodies. We know how to grab their attention, but in the process are we trading what we want most, which is a real love relationship with them? Feeling sexy is fun, but what is the cost when we force men to fight temptation? Somehow it seems the price that we pay to get attention is not worth it. And it's really out of control when a man cannot even attend church because the women are distracting him from worshiping.
Look at the influence the first lady in the human race had. Her craving led Adam to follow her into disobeying God. Eve saw something that was pleasing to the eye, and she wanted it more than she wanted to obey God. She ended up taking her husband down with her, and the Fall occurred.
Today the "fall of families" is an epidemic. We are losing our moral men of faith by the masses while pornography and human trafficking are out of control. Our men are forced to look at our flesh, whether they want to or not. They don't even have to seek it on the Internet; all they have to do is walk out their doors. Is it any wonder they are struggling to remain pure? Something has to change, and it has to start with us. How will our sons and daughters find the strength to remain pure and experience a pure love if no one leads the way?
When I was a new Christian, it never occurred to me to change the way I dressed or flirted; after all, I was single, so why shouldn't I dress the way I wanted and get whatever attention I could? I had worked hard to lose over fifty pounds and get in shape. I was finally thin for the first time.
Then one day, about a year into my walk with God, my young singles pastor came up to me after our church service and politely asked me if I could come to church dressed more modestly. He told me I was distracting him and some of the young men in our group from focusing on God. I know it took every ounce of courage he had to confront me and help me understand how men struggle, and even though I was a bit embarrassed and slightly offended, I'm glad he took a chance and told me the truth.
We have no idea the major internal battle that goes on inside our men when it comes to women. The truth is, sex and women hold the key to unlock a beast inside of them. Deep down inside, our men are screaming for some relief from all the overstimulation and sensual battles that war against their souls every day. Even those men who desire purity are forced to fight for it because of all the women who flirt and flash their flesh to get attention. Even our beloved King David, a warrior who was strong enough to stand before a giant, could not withstand temptation when he saw Bathsheba naked in the bathtub. The interesting thing about this story is that Bathsheba was unaware she was even tempting David. Bathsheba was in her own home, taking a bath in her own yard, but when David's eyes saw her flesh, he lost his strength and forgot who he was: a God-appointed king. Once he lost his moral compass, he lost his senses. He caved to his craving for her and then set up her husband to be killed on the battlefield so his own sin wouldn't be exposed.
David's moment of weakness had tragic consequences as the baby conceived by Bathsheba died. But even more tragic was that a piece of David's soul died that day, and the passion he once had to be a heroic man never did fully return. Our hearts' desire is for men to know how to connect to our hearts, but we make it difficult for them when we blind them with our bodies. We know how to grab their attention, but in the process are we trading what we want most, which is a real love relationship with them? Feeling sexy is fun, but what is the cost when we force men to fight temptation? Somehow it seems the price that we pay to get attention is not worth it. And it's really out of control when a man cannot even attend church because the women are distracting him from worshiping.
Look at the influence the first lady in the human race had. Her craving led Adam to follow her into disobeying God. Eve saw something that was pleasing to the eye, and she wanted it more than she wanted to obey God. She ended up taking her husband down with her, and the Fall occurred.
Today the "fall of families" is an epidemic. We are losing our moral men of faith by the masses while pornography and human trafficking are out of control. Our men are forced to look at our flesh, whether they want to or not. They don't even have to seek it on the Internet; all they have to do is walk out their doors. Is it any wonder they are struggling to remain pure? Something has to change, and it has to start with us. How will our sons and daughters find the strength to remain pure and experience a pure love if no one leads the way?
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