A Deadly Cancer

There is a deadly disease in churches today. It is a disease that is crippling the men of the church, it is bringing the church itself into chaos and disarray, and the church responds by sweeping everything under the rug.  The disease I am talking about is sexual impurity.

I have spoken about this before, but never with this fervent attitude.  We as men have to step up and say “NO MORE!!!”  The divorce rate inside the church is the same as outside the church.  7 out of 10 pastors who call in to Focus on the Family for help call for help with a sexual addiction.

The reason why this is such a devastating and painful attack on the church is nothing other than the church’s refusal to bring it out into the open.  The church as a body does not deal with this disease, and the men inside the church are not willing to take this head on.  Why not?  Do we want to continue to cradle these secret trysts with our fantasies in our hidden box, to be pulled out when we are looking for a “quick fix?”  Is it our pride and desire not to be found and unmasked for what we really are?

I think if we are going to move forward as a church, the body of Christians needs to be ready to make a stand against the constant barrage of attacks of sexual impurity.  When we see that church has become a more dangerous place than even the grocery stores with their smut, it is time to take action!  When we feel that we as men are not actively taking up our sword and shield to fight off this attack from the enemy, rather than sidling up with our hidden pet sins we should instead reexamine ourselves to discover our inner warrior.

“The LORD is a warrior.  The LORD is His Name.”

Being a Good Man

It’s hard today to be a good man.  Hollywood doesn’t want you to.  Culture doesn’t want you to.  Heck, in many ways, your own government doesn’t want you to.  It takes courage to step up to the plate and really be a man.  I don’t know how to get the church in an uproar over this and stop the bleeding, but there has to be a way for us to get men and women to stop allowing culture to pull us in the wrong direction.  The divorce rate is the same in the church as outside the church.  7 out of 10 pastors calling Focus on the Family for help are calling for help with sexual addictions.  Worse yet, it is the one thing that no one in the church wants to blow the lid off of and get out of our churches.

Why is that?  Sometimes, being a male myself, I believe that it is because men want to be able to keep their own little hidden sins and pet pleasures without having to change and really be a man.  I know I have done that in the past.  Sadly, I think it would have been hard for me before to work up the courage to blare out my own iniquities even in cyberspace.  I find that getting the truth out really does make you a freer person.  Men struggle with faithfulness, and a large part of the struggle is based in an unwillingness to admit the problem.  As men, we should challenge ourselve to be more than just biologically male.  Stomp out the secret sins and pet pleasures.  Eradicate them from our lives.  It is hard!!!!  I recently gave up a part of my “sexual enjoyment” that was actually hampering my relationship with my wife and my family, because I was placing it above them.  It is stupidly hard to get rid of these things, but it is a call to purity that the church needs before we can successfully stop the bleeding of our hearts and souls by society.  Until we are willing to stand up and say “NO MORE,” we will continue to head down this path of no return, where marriage and faithfulness are less the norm than they are a curiosity.

I pray that men in the church will get down on their knees and pray for strength in fighting this killer of marriages.  I pray that we will be open and honest, to bring all of our resources against this ensnaring evil that Satan knows is so easy to bring us down with.  I will pray for the church and for men, and for myself to be a good example to my children.  I still recommend Fireproof and the Love Dare for anyone who is serious about bringing love and openness and restoration to their marriage.  They are great resources, and no one should be without them!