Run Away!

“It is far better to avoid sin in the first place than to struggle to overcome its consequences.” – Tony Evans

Imagine an animal you fear, perhaps a rattlesnake or a large spider. What if you were on safari and you faced an angry rhinoceros?! What would you do if you suddenly saw such an animal? Run away, of course! You wouldn’t sit there and analyze the situation. You wouldn’t tweet about it or text a friend. You’d get away to safety as quickly as possible.

As a follower of Jesus that’s how you should feel about temptations to sin. When faced with a compromising situation, a set of circumstances that invite you to violate God’s perfect law of love, you'll want to flee! You will want to flee from sin and flee to Christ. He loves you and is offering this incredible new life in the new world he’s building. When you think about what your getting, the positive blessings of life with Christ, not just what you’re denying yourself, sin looks much less attractive and more and more scary!

King David did the opposite. Faced with the tempting situation involving Bathsheba, a beautiful woman, he ran toward the temptation. That decision led to a world of hurt. 

Joseph, on the other hand, when tempted by another beautiful woman, Potiphar's wife, ran away, avoiding the sin. He struggled with another kind of consequence entirely, being falsely accused, but ultimately God's blessing carried the day. It's always best to flee temptation.

What scary monster of temptation is facing you down, today? Remember, God is with you and always provides a way out so that the temptation can be overcome (1 Cor. 10:13).