Flee Before You Have to Say “No.”
The Bible talks a lot about fleeing from our sin.
“Flee from sexual immorality.” (1 Cor. 6:18)
“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” (1 Cor. 10:14)
“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” (1 Tim. 6:11)
“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace,” (2 Tim. 2:22)
With these verses we also have the example of Joseph when he was enticed by Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39). He didn’t stick around to see if he was strong enough to flirt with the line between sin and purity. It says he RAN! And this might seem like it’s too simple to work but it does.
The old adage is that “Idle hands are the devils playground” and if you have been caught up in the addictive cycle of pornography you know that when you are busy it is easier to say no to the addiction. But the prescription then is not to keep yourself so busy you don’t have time to think because there will be times when there is nothing going on. You can’t escape the fact that we will be bored at times. So what can we do?
One strategy I have found that works is to create a playbook. Make a list of things that when you are bored and start to feel the urge to start cruising the internet you can turn to instead. The best things are those that get you out of the house or keep you active. Reading the Bible, although is good, is not a good option here. When you are bored and you start reading the Bible you remain idle. If you would like to put this on your playbook do this instead: Study the Bible in a public place.
You know yourself better than anyone. You know when you are vulnerable. Take some time to think and make your list. Now let me warn you, as I did before, keeping yourself busy is not the prescription to breaking free from porn. Confession, honesty, and accountability are the tools that will pay the biggest dividends but your accountability partners aren’t always going to be there for you. So you have to decide what you can do to remain pure while you are alone.
Make your list and make the decision to run from temptations before you have to say no.
