ON THE VANGUARD

JUST SAY NO!
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
James 4:7

I can still remember all the mottoes and slogans that would fill the airwaves back in the 1980's. Yes, I am aware I am dating myself, but go back in time with me. It was around this time that S.A.D.D. and M.A.D.D. grew in popularity. The 'beef' was questioned. Pepsi was the choice of a new generation. And "Just say No" was the catch phrase used against violence, premarital sex, drugs, and other vices.
The phrase all started in 1982 when, then first lady, Nancy Reagan was asked by a schoolgirl what she should do when she was offered drugs. Reagan's response was, "Just say no." From there, a campaign was built, and a phrase that is still stuck in my head. In a way, though, this slogan was encouraged to us long before Nancy Reagan and her 'Just say No" campaigns.
In James 4:7 we are told to submit ourselves to God and just say no to the devil. It isn't always easy, though. Sin can be loads of fun. Hebrews 11:25 tells us that Moses chose to be mistreated with the slaves rather than continuing to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. We can all look at the things we have done and agree that many were probably fun. I had fun when I was in my years of pornography. I had fun getting away with telling lies. I had fun spending the money. But that fun was only temporary. When the 'moment' ended, I was faced with guilt, shame, and trying to figure out how I was going to pay a bill that I had just used my budgeted portion on.
In college, I remember our campus pastor, Bill Shuler, saying many times that we need to live "hindsight in a foresight position." What does that mean? It means we need to think of the end result before we engage. When I was in high school I dated a girl my senior year simply because I had heard she was semi-easy. Even though I wanted to have sexual relations with her, I didn't. Why? Because the whole time I kept thinking what would happen if she got pregnant? This was one of the few times I actually used the idea of the end to prevent the beginning. I wish I could say it has always been like that. But sin so easily tangles us. It is the carrot dangling in front of the rabbit.
Resist the devil and he will flee. How do we resist these temptations that seem so attractive, yet only end up as pythons straggling breath from us? The answer is submission to God. The Greek word for submit here is HUPOTASSO, which means to obey; to be a subject to God. Are we obeying God? James 4:8 fits behind this verse well when it says to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. When we are growing closer to God, we are more apt to obey Him from the start. Submission this way is easy. The closer I get to God, the more I want to be with God. His blessings far outweigh the temptations thrown at us. When I married, I was able to give myself to my wife as a virgin. The blessing and joy of that action even now, after 11 years and our divorce, is one of the highlights of my marriage. On my wedding night I felt no shame because she was my first.
I know that this entry has been focused mostly on sexual desires, but I can only write about the ways that I have been tempted. For you, temptation may be drugs, alcohol, gambling, telling lies. The list is endless, and the devil knows just what carrot to dangle over each of us. But the answer is still the same. RESIST THE DEVIL. Let's make it our goal to not give one more inch in our lives. Let's all begin to consider the end before we begin on a journey we may only regret later on.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Say_No