In Purity
One more lesson from Paul's verse to Timothy that said "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12)
Perhaps this was particularly challenging for Timothy being a young man. Staying pure as a young man is not easy. This was a massive struggle for me in my younger years, I felt a tremendous amount of pressure to be pure, and a tremendous amount of guilt if I didn't get it right.
The Challenge of Our Modern World
Of course, in Timothy's time there were no smart phones and no internet pornography. Sometimes I wonder about Job, when he said "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman." (Job 31:1) How would Job have coped, I wonder, with the internet, where the opportunities to look lustfully are endless.
I don't mean to say that it was easy for young men in those years, of course not. But I think there is a huge problem in our world today because of these things - many young men (and women too, nowadays) develop severe addictions in this area and often struggle their whole lives to find true freedom.
But Jesus did get quite graphic about this. He said this: "I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." (Matthew 5:28-30)
Radical Steps Towards Victory
As we consider these words, and Paul's encouragement to be setting an example in purity, I wonder if it's time for some of us to make some radical decisions to cut off the sources of our temptation. Is it time to install an internet filter that makes explicit material harder to access? Is it time to enlist the help of a trusted Christian friend, who you can confess to and speak to when temptation comes? "Cut it off", Jesus says. He wasn't talking about self-mutilation, I think we can all agree. He was talking about cutting off sources of temptation.
Sadly, most Christians hide this one instead of bringing it to the light. It's such a shameful thing for most, that they rather hide it. But we should be the ones setting the example! And perhaps we can set an example by truly fighting the temptations to impurity, in these ways.
Young, old, male, female - we are all called to sexual purity. Let's hear the call today, and put steps in place to find victory in this area.
God is able to give us victory - if we are willing to co-operate with Him in faith.
