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This conversation Makes That conversation Easier

Preface:  The conversations around sex are extraordinarily important because sex and faith are inextricably link.  Many college age kids that have walked away from their faith did so over sex.  They might tell you that lack of faith led to sex be we know that it starts in the mind way before in manifests outwardly.  Proverbs 26 tells us that the adulterous women is like a pit.  At first that contours up thoughts of a trap, which it is, the pit also refers to “the pit”, the underworld.  Sex outside of marriage can jeopardize the very state of your soul or faith.

We often get tripped up having conversations about sex.  Without some study and practice it can be difficult to convey a strong message and the alterative is something that falls flat.  Jesus came to help us subdue the flesh and guide us to a life filled with joy, purpose, meaning and adventure.  Although sex is a big part of a mature man’s life there are some life experiences that can help you connect the dots that most boys have grappled with.  Unchecked the flesh will always go to the extreme.  I do not fly a lot but when I do I love to swing into a Cinnabon.  My flesh tells me to get a Cinnabon, sit down, eat it and then get back in line for another.  For most of us it is obvious why that is a bad idea and most likely its because we have personally felt the effect of overeating sweets.

If we let the flesh control our lives it will run amuck of your life.  The Bible is many things and one of those is a guide to help us take control of our lives so that we can live life to the full.  Jesus warns us in John 10:10 that Satan has come to kill, steal, and destroy your life but that He came to give you life to the full.

Your oldest AR’s are 15 years old, and there is a great American adventure that your boys would love to hear about, John Goddard.  At age 15 he wrote down a list of 127 things that he was going to do in his lifetime.   https://www.johngoddard.info/life_list.htm  He accomplished 117 of them.  Here is list of what he didn’t accomplish.

1. Appear in a Tarzan movie.
2. Climb Mount Everest.
3. Explore the Orinoco River in Venezuela.
4. Read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. (Goddard claimed to have made it through “extensive parts in each volume.”)
5. Own a cheetah.
6. Follow the River Jordan from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea.
7. Become a ham radio operator.
8. Travel to the North and South poles.
9. Study dragon lizards on Komodo Island (Goddard’s boat broke down within 20 miles of the island, or he would have made it.).
10. Visit the Moon.

Do you think John Goddard worked to subdue the flesh?  Obviously.  All of us, especially in our highly sophisticated society, are tempted to take advantage of every luxury and ignore the “list” that God has laid on our hearts.  Later in life we either have strong regrets or we dismiss the list as wild fantasy.  But, that’s not what scripture says.  God wants us to have a life filled with joy, love, adventure, meaning, purpose, and to attain all those things you will need a road map and you will need to refer to it often.  That’s your Bible.

Now, what does all of this have to do with conversations about sex.  Even your youngest AR’s can understand the principle of opportunity costs.  Once you have said yes to one thing you have said no to everything else.  Or, once you have given your time, money, and effort to something you can’t give it to another thing.  Once you have given your heart over to the kind of love this world offers you will expensed some of “the well spring” (see Proverbs 4:23) that you can never back, and will forfeit the lifelong love and adventure God has in store.