Doing what pleases God, not self from Max Lucado

I receive Upwords by Max Lucado in my inbox once a week. He has such

Photo courtesy of Marcus

a way with words and bringing God's word into today's relevancy or perhaps application is a better term. Today's offering says this:

Dad, would you intentionally break the arm of your child? Of course not. Such an action violates every fiber of your moral being. Yet if you engage in sexual activity outside your marriage, you’ll bring more pain into the life of your child than a broken bone.

Mom, would you force your children to sleep outside on a cold night?  By no means. Yet if you involve yourself in an affair, you’ll bring more darkness and chill into the lives of your children than a hundred winters.

How many of us have ever thought this deeply about what adultery does to a family? The major problem is that Satan deceives us into thinking that adultery is only the physical infidelity. More often than not, adultery sneaks into a thought process usually taking the form of "I deserve a little happiness. Everyone deserves a little happiness."

Happiness is so fleeting, but Joy is everlasting. 

No one looks at their brand new baby sleeping in the bassinet or on mommy's breast and thinks, "I'm going to break this child's arm one day" or "I'm putting this baby outside on a winter's night." We do things we do not intend to do because godly people do ungodly things at times.

We cannot ever let down our guard against Satan. He has this huge file on every Christian and has highlighted every weakness we have. His aim is to kill, steal, and destroy everything that is good, pure, and lovely. The only way to fight that is to draw ever closer to God. The angels say, "The Lord rebuke you." We should take our cue from that and rest in God's power over Satan and his minions. 

Decide before you marry that adultery will never find your home's hearth sucking all the oxygen from the flames of your love and passion for your spouse. This includes all pornea. That is all that is perverted such as pornography and erotica. When you allow those perverted things to go into your mind and take root, you are opening the door to the seduction of Satan. His web is sticky, and will hold you fast if you give it the least little chance.

Make time to study God's word together. Pray together. Worship God together. Seek wholesome friendships. Seek out an accountability partner who will pray for you, and never betray your trust so that you can be honest about your feelings and your thoughts. 

Cheating is more than physical adultery. It is being addicted to lust an allergic to God. (See Perilous Times and Perilous Men). Decide your priorities--what is the single most important thing in your life? What next? And next? Then give attention to those priorities according to their purpose and importance. You will find that you receive much more contentment from your life when you have your priorities in a godly order. It is also much easier to recognize sin for what it is. It is also much easier to resit the devil and he will flee.