Honorbound Devotions
Dealing with Testosterone
By Dave Gable
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"For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the
Lord
Jesus. It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you
should avoid
sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his
own body in
a way that is holy and honorable" (1 Thessalonians 4:2-4, NIV).
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As soon as Paul raises the topic of sanctification, he starts with
sexual
immorality. I wonder why that was the first thing that came to mind?
Were
the people of Paul's day the same as we are now? A discussion of
sanctification means some immediate straight talk about sex.
The Bible's standard for acceptable sexual behavior is consistent,
and easy
to understand: sexual activity only within heterosexual, monogamous
marriage. How shall we get help from God to get there? Some say
we should go
into full exorcism mode, and concentrate on resisting or casting
out the
demon of sexuality.
It's always proper to resist the devil. But the text doesn't support
this
focus. Instead, Paul addresses us taking control of our own bodies.
We are
in charge of our bodies, not Satan! As long as we live, and are
male, we
will have to deal with testosterone. With testosterone present,
sex will
never be far from our attention. No matter how high the heights
of
spirituality we achieve on Sunday, Monday will include the possibility
of
inappropriate sexual attraction. God simply expects us to be in
this battle,
and to win. (I've never had a man present himself to be delivered
from
having testosterone!)
ACTION STEP: Any of us can find grace to please God in our sexuality
this
one day. Ask for that. Handle tomorrow when it comes. He will help
you walk
in control this day.
hbdevotion@news.ag.org