Emotional or Humble?
Today's Three-minute Bible Study
Print, Study and Apply
Title: Emotional or Humble?------------------------------ Date: 7/9/2003
Keywords:
"emotion" humility"
Welcome
to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual
temptation.
Passage: Psalm 19:13*
Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
Questions
1. Is viewing Web porn a "willful" sin?
2. Why or why not?
Practical help
Preacher Jonathan Edwards delivered his famous fire-and-brimstone sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," in a monotone. The reason? He didn't want to use emotion to wring repentance out of unwilling churchgoers. Still, his sermon helped spark one of America's greatest revivals. So much for style over substance.
Believers can learn much from Edwards' approach. Though we often rely on emotions to psyche ourselves up to resist Web porn, our spiritual forbears suggest a more effective approach. Consider David's prayer in Psalm 19. He doesn't whip himself into a frenzy over his shortcomings. Instead, he humbly asks for God's help. David recognizes that only God can help him overcome temptation. "Keep your servant from willful sins," he writes, "may they not rule over me."
To find out if you value emotion more than humility, test yourself with this question: When was the last time you prayed about Web porn like David?
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*Scriptures are from The Holy Bible: New International Version © Copyright 1973,
1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved.
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