This is one of the devil’s favorites, and most often used, schemes. Satan has used sexual temptation, almost from the beginning of time, to ensnare mankind. While men are especially susceptible to this temptation, women are in no way immune to it. Sexual immorality is a method the devil uses without discrimination.
How can we overcome this vice? First, we can overcome it with a lot of determination. Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself before God (Daniel 1:8), and we must do the same. Long before you ever find yourself being tempted by the devil with some kind of sexual allurement, you should make up your mind not sin against God. When it is our everyday goal to put God first and do what is pleasing to Him, we can overcome anything the devil throws at us.
When it comes to sexual immorality, determining to not give in to temptation is good, but it is not enough. Next, we must use some good, old-fashion common sense. I am not trying to be condescending here. It is amazing how many smart people get caught up in scandals that defy logic. People from all walks of life, from priests to presidents, behave like they have lost their minds when tempted with some type of sexual wrongdoing. They risk their reputations, occupations, and even their families, for something they can avoid by using common sense.
Common sense tells us to stay out of certain situations. As a married man, I have no business being alone with a woman who is not my wife. Common sense tells me not to go out for lunch with other women. It tells me not to text other women or have any kind of personal relationship with a woman who is not my wife. Even business relationships must be handled very carefully as to not put one in danger of sinning. This is not a holier-than-thou mentality, it is common sense. It is doing what Paul exhorted us to do when he said, “Flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18).
David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22); yet, one evening he went out onto his flat roof and saw a woman bathing (2 Samuel 11:1-2). This was not an innocent act on the part of David. “We are told that it is regarded in the East as improper for one neighbor to look over the battlement of his house into the inner court of the next dwelling” (Pulpit Commentary). Furthermore, David did not just look. When he saw a woman bathing, he refused to stop looking. We have all seen things we should not see, and what do we do? We quickly look away. David could have done the same thing, but instead, he stared at the woman. The Hebrew word for “saw” is “rāʾâ,” and can mean to gaze. Sometimes it is even translated “to spy.”
Was David fleeing sexual immorality on that occasion? No, and it got him in trouble. Once he gazed upon this woman, who, of course, was Bathsheba, a married woman, lust captivated his heart and all common sense flew out the window. He inquired about the woman, and even when he was told who she was, and that she was married, it did not alter his determination to have her. Common sense was nowhere to be found. He demanded she be brought to him, and he committed adultery. Oh, how the devil uses sexual immorality to corrupt the finest people. He will never stop using this method of temptation because it works too well.
Do not let the devil get you with this old scheme. Be like Joseph and determine not to sin against God, like he did when Potiphar’s wife tried to entice him (Genesis 39). Do what David failed to do—use your common sense to avoid the allurement of sexual immorality by diligently staying out of situations where sin is lying at the door.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.