Satan tells us what we can get away with looking at, the same way he told Eve she could eat the apple. If we listen to him, we will get the same results she did. He tells us, you can look at ______, if that does not work he will say, you can get away with looking at _______. Or, it's not so bad if you look at ______. Is it some huge sin if I stare a bit at a female who is not perfectly clothed? To understand the answer we need to review what we are supposed to be doing. If we were watching a movie last night we were supposed to be praising God during it, worshiping Him, and praying about what He wants us to do today, and what He wants us to do for the rest of our lives. If we “cheat” and look at some borderline things in the movie we will certainly fail completely in doing what God wanted us doing. When we are busy doing what God wants us doing, it will be obvious when “cheating” is just plain old sin. Another ploy of satan that would have eventually sunk us. Think about it, satan wanted to sink you last night, but he is real smart. If he fails in sinking you immediately he is happy to plant a seed in your heart so that you will sink later. We are either raising our standards of turning from lust, or we are starting to fall into his trap. There is no middle ground. It's one or the other. Last, consider praying about two points: “Father, show me what I am supposed to be doing.” “Father, help me to raise the standards in turning from lust.” No cheating. Higher standards. Success.
Gotquestions.org noted: “Goodness is virtue and holiness in action. It results in a life characterized by deeds motivated by righteousness and a desire to be a blessing. It’s a moral characteristic of a Spirit-filled person. The Greek word translated “goodness,” agathosune, is defined as "uprightness of heart and life." Agathosune is goodness for the benefit of others, not goodness simply for the sake of being virtuous.” To quit permanently we need to know and focus on the scripture about the first part of goodness. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Step one is to believe that "No cheating" will lead to a better life. This also starts to lead to a blessing. Step two is to constantly think spiritual thoughts after rejecting thoughts of lust. Today I am focusing on goodness. A person filled with goodness thinks: What good can I do for someone else today? How can I be a blessing to someone today? Consider praying: “Father, help me to know how to help others.” Research shows that people who help others may be 50% more likely to quit their addiction. I think those numbers are low. I think if you dedicate your life to helping others you are twice as likely to quit for good. #1, if you do good and start to be blessed you will be inspired. So you do more good. Next, you focus on hungering and thirsting after righteousness. This leads to more blessings. #2, you will be busy doing something which allows less time to mess up. #3, These focuses force you to think often about how to renew your mind. #4, we were created for purpose, so when we help others we start to increase in joy. #5 Research shows that when we help others we are less depressed, we have higher self-esteem, we start to learn how to fight against the self-absorption that comes with addiction, and we just simply feel better about life. Consider spending time in prayer, praying about increasing in goodness. Goodness is a key to quitting.
Cheating happens if we fail to consistently review the destruction that it causes. This week I was on vacation and saw something that I thought was quite spectacular. That led to my article earlier this week because I looked, and then looked again. Then I made a trivial travesty of repentance, leading to a dark day. What if we "knew" what we are looking at when we look with lust? Are we looking at a beautiful person who is showing too much? Yep, but that is not we we are "really" seeing. What we are really seeing is a portal which leads very quickly to darkness, depression, and destruction. What if we made it a habit to remind ourselves of what we are really looking at "every" time we are tempted to look, or when we started to have a lustful thought? Consider praying: "Father, remind me that when I fall into lust, I enter a portal which leads to darkness, depression, and destruction." But what if you have constant temptation and would never remember that when temptation appears? Simply pray that prayer when you do remember it. How many times do you need to read this prayer so that you make it a habit to pray it? How many notes and reminders do you need? How important is it to you to please Jesus, and to avoid darkness, depression, and destruction? Learning this habit gives us a great tool to fight with.
I must say, I think this is one of the best posts you have ever done. Well done! Very insightful, very inspiring.
Today consider writing down exactly what leads to a fall. What were you thinking about? Where were you, what were you doing? Exactly why did it happen? Were you cheating? Next, refer to this sheet often as you read future articles here. How is your daily routine different from how those articles say to live? How can you use a planning calendar to change your routine? What changes are most important? Second, write on your sheet, what are the most important fundamentals you need to acquire. Once again this involves current thoughts as well as future information. Act like a detective who is solving a great mystery. When do your thoughts go in the wrong direction? When do your eyes wander? When do your feet take you to bad places? At what points in this mad cycle can you make changes? When should you have prepared? How should you have prepared? Third, have you found something great in your spiritual life that is greater than your habit? To do that always take special note regarding articles that are about finding the glory of God. About learning to praise the Lord and give thanks. Study those types of articles constantly until new habits are formed. Finally, be ready for life's constant problems. How does God say to react to the situation that you are in? Do our reactions include the correct amount of love and forgiveness? What can we do to prepare for similar situations next time? Consider memorizing this statement: the problem is not the problem. If my reaction is correct, I can handle most of my problems.
I just don't pray my prayer from the June 30th article enough: "Father, remind me that when I fall into lust, I enter a portal which leads to darkness, depression, and destruction." I turn on the TV and enter my Zombie mode. Oops, didn't mean to see that, better get some quick forgiveness. Satan tells me “You will not fall, just look a tiny bit.” Satan often tells us half-truths. I probably am not going back to my destruction (porn), if I listen to him I am just going back to darkness, confusion, and increased temptation. Second, God has great things for us to do, and then He has great blessings for us. Joseph had a standard of always trying to be perfect in turning from lust. A perfect standard means he always worked on the habit of “Always turning and running from lust.” My new goal is to work on having that standard, and then see what kind of great life God has for me. Finally, if I pray that prayer enough, trying for higher standards will be obvious.
