“Most of the major social ills in America are caused by, or fueled by, the misuse of our sexuality.”

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 108). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Andy continues, “If issues related to sexual impurity—adultery, the shrapnel associated with adultery, addiction to pornography, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, the psychological effects associated with abortion, sexual abuse, incest, rape, and all sexual addictions— were to suddenly disappear from society, imagine the resources we would have available to apply to the handful of issues that would remain.”

But there is more to it than that.  Maybe one of these has hit you somewhere and you understand the great pain and deep regret that comes from the misuse of our sexuality.  And there is deep pain that comes even to the innocent with this misuse. It is something that we all need to come to grips with and do all we can to keep from it happening in our own lives. 

To do this Andy shares that “Wisdom dictates that each of us set standards that keep us out of harm’s way. These should be boundaries that are so far from the line of regret that, were we to cross one, we would suffer little or no consequence. When these are in place, a fascinating dynamic occurs: Your conscience actually latches on to the artificial standard you have set. When you violate one of your self-imposed rules, you feel guilty. And that low-risk guilt serves as a reminder that you are venturing out into dangerous territory.”

But you might ask, why do we go to such impractical lengths?  Andy says, “Because every regretful moral decision is preceded by a series of unwise choices— unwise choices that don’t raise an eyebrow or infringe upon our culturally programmed consciences.”  So we strive to keep those unwise choices from leading us to that place where great damage and deep regret occurs not only in your life but in the lives of those you really love. 

The Enemy is a deceiver and he wants to do all he can to damage your life and hurt those you love.  

So are you making unwise choices in this area with someone who is not your spouse?