Here are some things you can do this week–and every week for that matter–to help you be a better person, a more dedicated Christian, and make you less vulnerable to the attractive things of the world.

Stand up straight. There is a tendency to give into culture, to let society rule in our lives. It’s easy to just give in to the influences of the day. It takes fortitude and moral courage to stand up straight in the midst of the perverse society in which we live. It means we must give up some things; it means that we have to stand up for piety and holiness; it means that most of the time, we will have to go against the grain, and that’s not easy. Paul says “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10). He then advises that we put on the entire panoply of God so that we may be able to cope with the subtle wiles of the evil one. Standing up for a length of time makes you tired, but we must do it anyhow.

Watch where you’re going. It’s easy to get distracted and lose your way. You’re going along and suddenly you veer off course, almost without noticing it. The flickering lights of the world around us can mesmerize if we’re not watching where we’re going. Actually, most sin is fun at the start. If it weren’t, nobody would be attracted to it. But in the end, it bites like an adder. In The Psalmist says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:1-5). It helps considerably to have a map to show where we’re going. Keep the Bible might nigh. It’s the guiding force that will take you where you want to go and keep you from straying off course.

Be careful what you let in. Our minds are constantly being bombarded with things which are very appealing. Advertising, no matter the product or service it recommends, tends to make the thing being advertised look a lot better than it really is. The devil is a true artist when it comes to making sin attractive. We have to learn to reject such stuff. And that begins by restricting what we allow to have residency in our minds. Jesus said, “that heed what ye hear” (Mark 4:24), and Solomon said, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). And Paul said, “give no place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27). If we don’t let junk sit down for awhile in our hearts, it can’t do its dirty work. So be careful what you let in.

Guard carefully what you say. The tongue is not big, but brother, it is powerful. “Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth” said James (3:5). It only takes a little kindling to cause a huge wildfire; the smallest spark can generate a conflagration. “The tongue is a fire” in the truest sense of that affirmation. If you think about it, most of the problems we encounter involve the tongue in some way or the other. For instance, gossip–just one poor use of the tongue–often starts with some small statement then grows to a proportion no one ever dreamed of. Another instance is cursing–a sure sign of either total rejection of God or hypocrisy. Lying is another; it’s common anymore, and just because it is acceptable conduct in many places does not argue that it is not sinful and wrong. It takes great moral strength and intense concentration, coupled with great spiritual integrity to keep the tongue in tow.

Be cautious about what you decide. Decisions are the predicate on which lives are lived. We do things–good or bad–because we decide to do them. It is necessary, therefore, that we take heed about how and what we decide. We as God’s children must bring into captivity every thought, and “every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.” (II Corinthians 10:6). You can’t blame consequences, or other people, or some intense pressure, for making poor choices. You decide what you do–nobody does it for you. And you can’t excuse yourself by saying, “I just wasn’t thinking.” It may have been shallow thinking, but you did it because you decided to. We have to be careful how and what we decide.

Know why. Motive is such a vital part of our lives. Motive is the energy behind our activity, the motor that fuels our choices. Love is the divine motive. It is the highest of all reasons for doing something. When love is the motive, the end accomplished will be a thing of good, of joy and beauty. Paul personifies love in I Corinthians 13. He says love suffers long, is kind, doesn’t behave poorly, doesn’t seek its own good, but the good of others. It is not envious, not puffed up with arrogance, and is not easily provoked. And, he says, it never fails (vs. 8). Love is the divine mucilage as well; it binds all the good stuff together. “And above all these, put on love, which is the bond of perfectness” (Colossians 3:14). Love makes a bond unbreakable, a melding that will withstand all. Love is–well, love is love.

I hope you have a good week. Oh, by the way, one final thing:

Pray. Then pray some more.

---Dee Bowman