If you want to conquer pornography, masturbation or any other sexual sin, expect to leave something behind. A life of sexual purity looks different from one of habitual sexual sin. Just consider the life of Joseph.
After Joseph arrives in Egypt as a slave, he becomes master of the household of Potiphar, the captain of the guard of the pharaoh of Egypt. Potiphar has a wife who notices that Joseph is “handsome in form and appearance” (Gen 39:6). She lusts after Joseph and invites him to have sex with her. Joseph refuses. She persists, day after day, but Joseph consistently refuses her invitations to sin against God. But, one day, she takes things further:
“But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house were inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, ‘Lie with me.’ But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.”
Genesis 39:11-12
Suddenly, Joseph not only has to ignore Potiphar’s wife, he has to get away from her as well. But he can’t leave the room if she is holding his clothing. So, what does Joseph do? Try to reason with her? Wrestle her hand away? Stay right where he is, put up a token resistance, then gladly give in? No. Joseph leaves his clothing in the hand of his temptress, he flees, and he runs outside.
This is the remedy for strong sexual temptations. What you must leave behind depends on your trigger. It may be your smartphone. It may be your subscription to HBO. It may be your job. But this is the pathway to holiness. Victory over sexual sin means forsaking anything that causes you to stumble by leaving it behind. Next time a seductive woman grabs hold of you online and tempts you to sin sexually, you know what to do.
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