Good points, Pastor Bruce! I know of several Churches that have had this problem. That is, someone slips in and destroys a marriage and a church. At first, in the earlier stages, it seems to be so innocent. Then it blossoms into something God would never approve of. This all takes place with one little compromise at a time. In reading Biblical stories and observing the life of others around me I have come to the firm conclusion that small compromises lead to BIG compromises.
Being alone with the opposite sex is a rather risky endeavor. Of course, this is not to say that just because a man and woman are together, with no one else present, some sin will assuredly be taking place. However, such a circumstance, that is a man and woman being alone, does increase the risk of such an occurrence.
In thinking of this I am reminded of a promise that I made to God and think it worthwhile to share. In High School I rode the school bus. I had many friends at school, but did very little socializing with them outside context of school and school related activities, their beliefs and ideas of fun were far different from my own. Their social events often circled around drinking and other activities unacceptable to God. Attending school, doing home work, and working 30hrs a week left little time for much else, other than attending Church on Sunday. Fortunately, my busy schedule always provided a “good” excuse to forgo attending any parties. In short, the relationships with my high school peers were good, but limited. These relationships led to many interesting conversations, indeed. They would discus a diversity of topics. Nothing was off limits. A particular group of guys viewed sexual relations with young women as some type of a competition, which treated young ladies as though they were nothing more than an object.
Fortunately, some of these young men would later come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ. I planted the seed as the Lord directed and gave the best possible real life example of being a Christian.
Now back to their high school conversations and the promise I made to God. One day, as the bus jolted down the highway, I looked out at the passing scenery. On that particular day, I was exhausted, didn’t feel much like talking, and decided to set mid way of the bus, so I could just sit back and relax, before arriving home to head off to work. The conversation in the back of the bus went on without my involvement. Yes, the popular topic was girls. The latest conquest was being shared with the greatest of details.
In my heart the Lord was opening my eyes. I could see clearly that their lifestyle was NOT one that I wished to adopt. On that day I promised the Lord that I would save myself for marriage.
Since that day the Lord has given me ways to keep my promise. To Him, and only to Him, can I give the glory. The real essence of keeping this promise is NOT making any small compromises. There are too many boundaries to list here but one of the major ones is a “no woman” policy. “What do I mean by this?”, you may be asking yourself. Well, I don’t allow any women into my apartment if there is no one else present. The only exception to this is family. My Mother does come and visit often, after all someone needs to use the cook stove, otherwise it would just collect dust…lol…
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