Heartbreaking news out of Ozark this week. A local community service group seeking to expose online child predators in our surrounding area caught a man my age allegedly trying to pick up a fourteen year old girl in a near-by city park. In this small of a community, over the years I have had many opportunities to rub shoulders with this guy. Men all around this community are angry, saddened, and shocked.

How does this happen? How is it possible for a man to pursue sin like this?

Let me explain how it is possible and provide a warning for each one of us.

How do you go this far? How is it possible to get here?

Most of us wonder how does someone we know and have spent time around end up here? What makes this possible? Most of us also would like to believe that we would never commit this kind of sin. Again, most of us cannot conceive any way that we would ever commit sin that hurts minors, breaks apart families, and damages the community.

But how do you know you won’t? Are there any guarantees?

Although it would be nice to say that “you would never” or for me to say “I would never” do such a thing, however, according to the Bible, we would be fools to make that assumption. We simply cannot trust our own hearts spiritually to assume such an assertion.

The normal path of sin

Jesus’ half brother James explains the pathway of sin for us.

14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. (James 1:14-16)

You are tempted to sin when…

  1. You are drawn away and enticed. Consider these two fascinating words in this expression where drawn away refers to a hunter’s trap and enticed refers to a fisherman’s lure. In other words, as an animal slips unknowingly into a trap and a fish bites an enticing lure, so the person moves toward sin. Friends, be wise to catch this. Deception rules the process of temptation. Just as no animal or fish intentionally gets caught, none of us intentionally gets caught in our sin. In our hearts we travel through a process where over time we move from temptation to entrapment. What then draws you away and entices you?
  2. You are drawn away and enticed by your own desires or lust. What draws you away is your own wants, desires, lusts, appetite, cravings, hunger, yearnings, what you long after, wish for, and set your heart on. Yes, those are all biblical synonyms for the same term desire. The Bible teaches that what you set your heart on (your desire) begins to control you. Your desire becomes the controlling factor in your heart. Desire does not have to be always evil, for even a good desire when it rules your heart can produce sin. For instance, consider that even a desire for coffee (good desire) in a moment that I cannot have any (pressured situation) can make me grumpy toward others (evil or sinful response).
  3. If you do not deal with your desire/wants/lusts/cravings, then you inevitably sin. The writer James transitions from a hunting/fishing metaphor to a birth metaphor. When desire rules unchallenged in the heart, then it is just a matter of time before you sin. The metaphor of conception and birth here emphasizes the inevitability of sin whenever you fail to challenge your desires. Using my example again, even a desire for coffee (good desire) if in a moment of not getting to have it (pressured situation) goes unchallenged (meaning I allow it to become my ruling desire), the inevitable result, I sin. Where does sin take you?
  4. Sin leads you down a path toward destruction and death. Other Bible writers describe this path as a spiral downward. What initially begins as a simple desire morphs into a life-dominating sin pattern. In other words, we surprisingly arrive at a destination we never saw coming. The thing we desired changes to the thing we serve. By serving it, we sin in ways we never thought possible. All because of a crazy desire we left unchallenged.

Be warned and diligent

This pathway should produce something in each one of us – more than just one something actually.

  1. Fear/Respect. As we consider our desires, we fear them. We understand that this small desire left unchecked can bring down an entire life.
  2. Humility. Instead of responding with self-righteousness and condemnation toward the individual who sins, humility should rule our hearts. We recognize the path this person walked down. We shutter as we consider our similarities as people. Our own desires left unchecked produce destruction as well. We are fools to think that he is constitutionally different than any of us.
  3. Diligence. This story serves as a reminder to me to be diligent. In the area of desire, we must fight, defend, and proactively stand our ground. Any desire left on its own can rule us. Just as we attack one spot of cancer, we assess and combat the desires of our heart.
  4. Dependence. We recognize that we are totally dependent upon God working in us through His Word by the power of the Spirit. If not, we lose this fight. We either walk in the Spirit or we fulfill the desires of the flesh. We either choose to live for Christ and love others or we choose to live for self. Not one of us wins this battle in our own strength. Instead, we depend upon God working in us as we strive to live in a way that honors Him.

Steps forward to a godly response

Anger? Yes. The Bible teaches to be angry and sin not. In the Christian when we see this kind of sin, sin produces anger. Anger then motivates us to do something good in light of what we see and hear.

Sinful angry? No. Your response to this news potentially produces in you more than just biblical anger. You may slip into pride and see this sinner as different than you. Listen to yourself. Your language and attitude reflects your own heart. Use your response to encourage you to consider your own heart first.

Sadness? Absolutely. Our sadness results from all the hurt this type of sin and news produces. For some this news reminds them of past abuse. And in others this reminds us of the broken world in which we live. For all of us, we hate sin, suffering, abuse, and trauma.

Prayer? Please, yes. We pray today for our community, for those who have suffered in the past, and for those who may suffer now, We pray for this man’s wife, family, friends, and acquaintances who reel in dismay, shock, and pain. We pray for this man’s soul that God would use this moment in his life to radically change him and draw him toward repentance.

Gratitude? Yes. We rejoice in a community group that seeks to expose sin and protect our children. Most of us have no idea how much time and effort it takes to do this work. However, we thank you.

Vigilance. Absolutely. As men (and by extension all adults), we are responsible for our children’s and youth’s safety. Each of us must protect the children in our community with vigilance. We cannot afford to ignore what our children and youth do online. The sad reality exists that people caught in sin do stalk our children, seek to sin against them, and produce harm throughout our community.

Anticipation? Oh yes. We anticipate the day when Jesus comes back and gets rid of all sin, suffering, and pain. We anticipate heaven, true and lasting holiness, intimate fellowship with God, and truly loving each other.

Self-Counsel? Again, yes. We each must choose self-counsel where we carefully assess our own desires, determine what rules our own hearts, and do battle against the desire that gets conceived which produces sin. We cannot afford to just wink at sin – no more than we can afford to wink at just one spot of cancer. Ignoring cancer produces destruction of the body and death. Ignoring sin produces destruction and death as well.

 

Image Credit Caleb Jones

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