“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18)
I was one of those guys in high school who spent way too much time watching and quoting “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” with my friends. You know those guys, the really cool and popular ones. Yeah, those guys.
Anyway, one of my favorite scenes is the one where King Arthur and his men come upon the dreaded lair of an evil creature that destroys all who approach it. When the monster turns out to be a fluffy, white bunny, they laugh it off. But when the bunny quickly (and comically) kills two or three of them in close combat, they’re left with only one option: “Run away! Run away!” (That’s the line that’s fun to quote.)
Paul didn’t offer the Corinthians a three-step plan for dealing with sexual temptation. No secret strategies. Just this: “Run away!” Sexual sin might seem harmless at first glance, but it leads to disaster. It’s a sin that you commit against yourself. Don’t try to fight it, Paul says. Don’t try to outthink it. Just run away.
Think: Have you ever seen anyone (or yourself) actually flee from sexual immorality? What’s the danger of not running away, of trying to get closer-but-not-too-close? Why do so many of us try to dance around immorality instead of getting out of its way?
Pray: Ask God to help you to have the courage to run away from sexual immorality.
Do: Joseph ran away. Look for new-to-you details from his example in Genesis 39:1-23. (Notice that he paid a price for running.)