Read Online Every Young Man's Battle: Stategies for Victory in the Real World of Sexual Temptation: The Every Man Series by Stephen Arterburn - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Stephen Arterburn
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“What if it’s a
girl? What if I’m wrong?”
With the start of Brenda’s
labor pains, the pressure seemed to double every minute. Finally, standing
under the bright lights of the delivery room and watching Brenda bear down in
the last moments before birth, I knew the moment of truth was near.
The
baby came out face up.
Good,
I thought.
I’ll have a perfect
view.
Anxious, I gently urged Brenda, “Come on, sweetheart. Push a
little more.”
The shoulders emerged. Just a few more inches, I
thought. And then?
Arrrggh! What are you doing, Doctor?
He turned the
baby toward himself at the last moment, just as the hips and legs popped out.
Now I could only see the baby’s back.
C’mon, c’mon,
I cried out inside.
The doctor and nurse said nothing. It was
maddening! Methodically and efficiently, they dried the baby, suctioned the
throat, and slapped a silly little cap on the newborn. When the doctor finally
presented our new child to me, the legs were flopping apart. Immediately I
looked down; I just had to know.
“It’s a boy!” I
exclaimed. Most definitely.
And being a boy means having certain
qualities that come “hard-wired” with the package.
W E D O H AVE T HESE T ENDENCIES , G UYS …
Why the
prevalence of sexual sin among men? We got there naturally—simply by
being male.
My son Michael is now nine years old, and his older
brother, Jasen, is seventeen, and I can assure you that both are definitely
males. As I raise them, I’m aware of the natural tendencies inherent to
maleness that will touch every aspect of sexual purity for them, just as they
do for me. In other words, our very maleness—and three male tendencies in
particular—represents the second main reason (in addition to
“stopping short”) for the pervasiveness of sexual impurity among
men.
Male Tendency #1:
We’ re Rebellious by Nature
When Paul explained to Timothy that “Adam was not the one deceived;
it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner” (1 Timothy 2:14),
he was noting that Adam wasn’t tricked into eating the forbidden fruit in
the Garden of Eden. Adam knew it was wrong, but he ate it anyway. In the
millennia since then, all of Adam’s sons have tended to be just as
rebellious.
Author George Gilder in his 1973 book
Sexual
Suicide
reported that men commit more than 90 percent of major crimes of
violence, 100 percent of the rapes, and 95 percent of the burglaries. Men
comprise 94 percent of our drunken drivers, 70 percent of suicides, and 91
percent of offenders against family and children. Most often, the chief
perpetrators are single men.
Our maleness brings a natural, uniquely
male form of rebelliousness. This natural tendency gives us the arrogance
needed to stop short of God’s standards. As men, we’ll often choose
sin simply because we like our own way. We think we’re different. We
think we can handle it. But as we saw in the last few chapters, mixing
standards and choosing our own way will ensnare even the finest Christians with
the deepest hearts.
Male Tendency #2: We Have a Strong,
Regular Sex Drive
The human male, because of sperm
production and other factors, naturally desires a sexual release about every
seventy-two hours or so. How does this cycle impact sexual purity of the eyes
and mind? It means your body isn’t reliable to help much in the battle
for sexual purity and obedience. We easily identify with Paul:
When I
want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight
in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body,
waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of
sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! (Romans 7:21-24)
Our bodies often break ranks, engaging in battle against us. This
traitorous tendency pushes our sexual drive to ignore God’s standards.
When the engine of our sexual drive combines with our natural male arrogance to
go
girl? What if I’m wrong?”
With the start of Brenda’s
labor pains, the pressure seemed to double every minute. Finally, standing
under the bright lights of the delivery room and watching Brenda bear down in
the last moments before birth, I knew the moment of truth was near.
The
baby came out face up.
Good,
I thought.
I’ll have a perfect
view.
Anxious, I gently urged Brenda, “Come on, sweetheart. Push a
little more.”
The shoulders emerged. Just a few more inches, I
thought. And then?
Arrrggh! What are you doing, Doctor?
He turned the
baby toward himself at the last moment, just as the hips and legs popped out.
Now I could only see the baby’s back.
C’mon, c’mon,
I cried out inside.
The doctor and nurse said nothing. It was
maddening! Methodically and efficiently, they dried the baby, suctioned the
throat, and slapped a silly little cap on the newborn. When the doctor finally
presented our new child to me, the legs were flopping apart. Immediately I
looked down; I just had to know.
“It’s a boy!” I
exclaimed. Most definitely.
And being a boy means having certain
qualities that come “hard-wired” with the package.
W E D O H AVE T HESE T ENDENCIES , G UYS …
Why the
prevalence of sexual sin among men? We got there naturally—simply by
being male.
My son Michael is now nine years old, and his older
brother, Jasen, is seventeen, and I can assure you that both are definitely
males. As I raise them, I’m aware of the natural tendencies inherent to
maleness that will touch every aspect of sexual purity for them, just as they
do for me. In other words, our very maleness—and three male tendencies in
particular—represents the second main reason (in addition to
“stopping short”) for the pervasiveness of sexual impurity among
men.
Male Tendency #1:
We’ re Rebellious by Nature
When Paul explained to Timothy that “Adam was not the one deceived;
it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner” (1 Timothy 2:14),
he was noting that Adam wasn’t tricked into eating the forbidden fruit in
the Garden of Eden. Adam knew it was wrong, but he ate it anyway. In the
millennia since then, all of Adam’s sons have tended to be just as
rebellious.
Author George Gilder in his 1973 book
Sexual
Suicide
reported that men commit more than 90 percent of major crimes of
violence, 100 percent of the rapes, and 95 percent of the burglaries. Men
comprise 94 percent of our drunken drivers, 70 percent of suicides, and 91
percent of offenders against family and children. Most often, the chief
perpetrators are single men.
Our maleness brings a natural, uniquely
male form of rebelliousness. This natural tendency gives us the arrogance
needed to stop short of God’s standards. As men, we’ll often choose
sin simply because we like our own way. We think we’re different. We
think we can handle it. But as we saw in the last few chapters, mixing
standards and choosing our own way will ensnare even the finest Christians with
the deepest hearts.
Male Tendency #2: We Have a Strong,
Regular Sex Drive
The human male, because of sperm
production and other factors, naturally desires a sexual release about every
seventy-two hours or so. How does this cycle impact sexual purity of the eyes
and mind? It means your body isn’t reliable to help much in the battle
for sexual purity and obedience. We easily identify with Paul:
When I
want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight
in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body,
waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of
sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! (Romans 7:21-24)
Our bodies often break ranks, engaging in battle against us. This
traitorous tendency pushes our sexual drive to ignore God’s standards.
When the engine of our sexual drive combines with our natural male arrogance to
go
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