Hello Dear Listeners, welcome to overcoming temptations. My name is Oyisi Okatahi. Today our topic is titled: Take Heed. To take heed means to be careful, cautious, to pay attention, to observe.
Our bible passage is taken from 1 Corinthians 10:8-12. Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all[b]these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
Sometimes are our body and mind do not work the same way so we need to be careful. For example when you are hungry, sensors of hormones in your body alert your brain that you need to eat. However it is possible to ignore this alert and even without eating the brain is no longer notified of hunger. So the body is very hungry but the brain is not hungry. This is the same scenario when it comes to temptation, your brain may tell you it is okay and there is no problem, but your body is weak and desires sex. Sexual desire is normal and given by God but it should only be fulfilled in marriage.
So do not be over confident. Sometimes when you ask people why they were involved in a sexual act, they say it is the work of the devil. Well in principle all evil is from the devil, however the devil does not force anyone, he gives you an option to sin and you have the decision to accept or reject. They find it unbelievable that they could commit such an act, but the reason is that when their body was telling them the truth, their brain was telling them everything was okay and they became overconfident and ignored all warning signs until they fell into temptation.
I read online that a decent and respected man was living with his family and sister-in law or wife’s sister. The sister in-law came to assist them with house chores and the children. Now his sister-in-law was young, attractive and single. Now this man knew he was attracted to his sister in-law his body told him that and even his friends noticed how he bought her gifts and showed her attention. Now his wife also noticed this but thought her husband was just extending the love he had for her to her sister. When one of his friends confronted him about his closeness to his sister in-law he dismissed it and said what nonsense, how could he date his sister in-law. He was even upset that his friend could think of such a thing. This was what his brain was telling him but his body was saying something different. Most times body language is the true language of a matter. So one day his wife travelled out of town for a few days. The man got chatting with his sister in-law, then body contact started and before you know it they slept with each other. They both regretted it and where surprised it could ever happen. But the truth is that they had a deep relationship already subconsciously and the body was only waiting for an opportunity to express itself. So you need to be careful and not be over confident, remember you are a human being and subject to mistakes.
So guard yourself, whenever you sense danger avoid it before it becomes an issue. It would have been better for the man to tell his wife that he is not comfortable with her sister living with them, if he is ashamed of telling his wife the real reason for his decision, he can be diplomatic and find an excuse without lying to his wife. Now I am not saying you cannot live with your sister in-law, or brother in law, this is normal in our culture, however when you notice an attraction of any kind in your home this is dangerous and you should address it before it destroys your family. Have a blessed day.
