Troublesome Topic: Handcuffs Tighten
Lesson 2 of 6Now imagine I were to be put into handcuffs (because we all enjoy picturing ourselves in handcuffs, right?) I could possibly think, “These don’t hurt.” But if I were to resist and pull against them, then they would start to hurt because they would tighten (I gather there is a way to lock them that does not allow them to tighten but usually they are locked so they do tighten if one pulls against them).
When a man is not trying to fight the allure of lust, he will probably check out the females nearby and may say to himself, “Nice.” But he has seen more than that, and the experience is not very intense.
If that same man were to decide to fight those tendencies and not look at women at all, the intensity will suddenly multiply. The fight is intense and when he looks, there is an intensity about his glances as well. Now even subtle displays of shapeliness or small amounts of skin in the right places, will cause him to say within himself, “Wow, I can’t help looking at that.”
When a man goes from saying, “I can resist lust any time I want,” to actually trying to resist it, Satan and our sinful nature work together to bring on the battle. Satan makes everything center on this battle. Suddenly there are opportunities to lust everywhere.
The following verses show this character of sin when exposed by the law: Rom 7:5, 7:8, 7:11, 7:16.
The next lesson is: Watch Out for Magnets!