Promise or Promiscuity?

If ever there was a question that needs to be raised today it’s the one of promise or promiscuity? In fact it's a perennial problem/question.

Will we as God’s people live by the promise of God, or will we be seduced and fooled by the enemy and live in promiscuity – the enemy’s idea of what it means to truly live? Its a challenge every Christian faces.

To put it another way – will we live by the Spirit or by the Flesh?

Sadly the statistics show there are too many today who are choosing the latter. The statistics for people including Christians struggling with pornography are on the rise – statistics suggest that 50% of Christian men struggle with pornography; 20% women (2006) – pornography is about getting by media what you can’t have in the flesh.

The statistics regarding divorce are not that much different to the world.

The World has a habit of changing or dumbing down language to suit it’s own ends. Now we use words like ‘affairs’ when what we really mean are adulteries, or ‘sleeping with’ when what we mean is fornication, and ‘partner’ instead of husband or wife, each in there own way just taking something of the edge off the original word, and so anaesthetising us to what’s really going on.

A word that has really taken hold is addiction, we say ‘oh, he/she’s addicted to…’ as if it’s some disease, some ‘thing,’ a sickness even. The word originally meant ‘a leaning,’ and its only since the early 1900’s that it has become what it is today – habitual or compulsive – a word that suits a godless generation with no references to sin and its power over people’s lives. The truth is all are addicted in some way, because all are sinners.

You may not struggle with lust, it could be something else: drink, drugs, anger, gambling, possessions…. don’t let the enemy fool you:

• Sin is illusionary – it fools you with an empty promise, it’s not what it appears to be.
• It’s pleasures are momentary.
• It’s fruit is broken lives, damaged relationships, and unfulfilled potential.

To all of the above you could say, remember Adam & Eve.

Is there some temptation that keeps coming your way, more than that, is there something you are already indulging in and the devils fooled you it’s OK, maybe even that God understands – don’t be fooled! Listen, it’s not worth it! Never!

There’s only one life to live and that’s the life of promise – the life that says first of all, yes to God, and then no to temptation and sin – not the other way round. If you are not wholly surrendered to God, wholly convinced of his goodness and plan for your life you will never be an overcomer. Maybe you need to get a fresh vision of God and the promise of life he offers – unless you get that every attempt at living the life of promise will fail because it will run aground on a lower, less fulfilling vision that captivates our hearts.

When you have the vision and commitment you can then work effectively at making no provision for the flesh, and putting to death the desires of the flesh, in order to live the life of promise which is far, far greater.