You’re walking down the street and see a woman wearing yoga pants and a top showing way too much cleavage. You maul her with your eyes.
Then what?
Now you’ve sparked your flesh, which is never satisfied, and you’ve opened the door to our spiritual enemy a little more. Tonight he’ll hit you hard with the pull to watch porn.
Should you binge on porn and masturbation, then what? You’ll flip from video to video desperately looking for the perfect hit (there is no such thing) and will eventually masturbate. You’ll feel miserable for the next several days with a shame hangover and have to tell your accountability partner or support group. That is, unless you keep it a secret which will strengthen lust’s grip even more.
Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes
Proverbs 6:25
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:27-28
You’re a woman, out in public, and are dressed in anatomy and crevice revealing yoga pants and a cleavage-exposing top. You love the feeling of being worshipped as a goddess by men who look you over. It gives you a sense of being wanted, desired.
But then what? None of those men care about you. They don’t love you. If they could, many would walk up to you and grope you (such acts in public are a problem today.) Many are married. Do you want that? Are those the kind of men you want to attract? How does any of this express and affirm your worth and dignity as a beloved daughter of God? And now you’re what the Bible calls a stumbling block; someone who causes others to sin.
And you’re still empty.
Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes!
Matthew 18:7
Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive apparel…
1 Timothy 2:9
It’s Christmas time. December is the month to gorge on rich foods, candy, cookies, and other sugar-laced foods everywhere. It’s what we Americans do, right? 42% of us are obese and another 35% are overweight. (Note: occasionally eating such foods in small or even moderate amounts isn’t what we’re talking about here). But then what? Come January 1, the party will be over, and you’ll carry more weight; you’ll be out of shape and feel crummy. But that’s when the new year’s resolutions come in, right? By January 10, everyone’s forgotten their resolutions and it’s back to life as usual, albeit with a heavier burden to carry.
Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
Ezekiel 16:49
You’re enchanted with the Christmas season. The lights, Christmas celebrations, snow-covered landscapes, festivities, and family gatherings have always been something you enjoyed. You’re busy at work, home, and family, with preparations, shopping, spending, church events, and more. Your prayer life fades and your relationship with the Lord gets choked. Then what? Although you worked hard to get into “the Christmas spirit,” on December 26 you crash hard into depression.
…for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Jeremiah 2:13
Let’s take it a little deeper. Your life is about comfort, pleasure, and wringing as much fun as possible out of your time on earth. Being happy is your main goal. There’s little to no spiritual fruit in your life. Sunday morning at church, you do your time and put on the smile, just as good Christians are supposed to do, then it’s on to lunch. Your church keeps the messages light and airy, like whipped cream. No one walks out feeling convicted or challenged. You don’t know anything about spiritual warfare because you never get attacked. The enemy is happy to keep you distracted and wrapped up in a soft, warm blanket of comfort and ease.
Then what?
So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:16
I could go on, but you get the picture. We don’t always take the time to think through where we’re headed and the possible consequences. Sometimes we do what everyone else does because that’s what we’ve heard we’re supposed to do. Once we start asking “then what?” and filter our life through the Bible, God may show us changes we desperately need to make. Then we’ll be forced to face the raging spiritual battle around us—and our pride, sin, and weaknesses.
This morning I was at a grocery store. A woman walked up to the food section in front of me, dressed in form-exposing yoga pants. Immediately my flesh peaked its head out and screamed “Yes! I want to look!”… in a micro-second I pinned my flesh to the wall, turned my head, and moved on. I hate that I have to deal with the lust that resides in my flesh, but those battles aren’t going away.
In October I was seated in the lounge area of an airport waiting for a flight. A woman walked up to the row opposite me, about six feet away, turned, bent over, and stayed in that position, with her butt in front of my face. As I wrenched my flesh to the ground once more and turned my head, I remember thinking, “What is she doing??”
We’re always in need of God, aren’t we? The flesh is always at hand and must be crucified on an ongoing basis. Our enemy knows our weaknesses and patiently waits for the right moment to attack. We need His strength to look away from the sirens that are everywhere, walk away from the desert tray when we’ve had enough, and be content with our spouse, having enough to eat, and other areas. We need His wisdom to see when we’re headed in the wrong direction or looking for love or life in people or things that will never satisfy.
We’re back to putting effective, fervent prayer at the top of our priority list. The busier we are, the more we need it. Regardless of the time of the year, hit your knees, every day, in extended time alone with God in silence. Don’t allow your prayer life to fade. It’s easy to get distracted from drinking from the well of life this time of the year. Stay locked on God. This may sound sacrilegious, but the Christmas season has little if any impact on my relationship with the Lord. Going hard after Him is my way of life, no matter the holiday. Without God my flesh surfaces and the pull to look at Miss Yoga Pants with the low cut top intensifies.
It is well said that neglected prayer is the birth-place of all evil… Nothing brings such leanness into a man’s soul as lack of prayer.
– Charles Spurgeon