I have come to the brink of utter ruin...

...in the midst of the whole assembly.

Proverbs 5:14

That proverb strikes like a hammer in the middle of a father's warning to his son about what would befall the man who became enticed by the adulterous woman. She had ensnared him.

Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.

verse 5

Now, most men do not adulter their wives in the physical sense, but many adulter them nonetheless through inappropriate stares, flirtations, or involvement with pornography. Men struggle with this in the midst of the whole assembly (to include yours truly). Sadly, some do not struggle at all; they simply cave like a wave-smitten sand castle.

I heard it said once that five out of six men struggle with lust and the rest lie about it. This sin besets men because a) God created us to be struck through the eyes by a woman's beauty, and b) our pride prevents us from confessing that it is an issue in our lives. As such, in the midst of those who love us most, in the midst of those who would love to shoulder our load, we come to the brink of utter ruin.

My point in blogging this is not the lust. Certainly, that is a big issue that men need to man-up to, but the bigger problem can be tagged onto any sin. That bigger problem is b) above, the thing that prevents the restoration. We do not have the power to overcome sin on our own. Notice Paul's clash of the Titans in Romans 7. Only in our abiding in Christ can He change our hearts and change our ways. Abiding in Christ does not mean flying solo. It means living in non-stop relationship to Him and in loving obedience to what He says. That means:

• We confess (admit) our sins to one another (James 5:16)
• We pray for one another (same verse)
• We confess (admit) our sin to God (1 John 1:8-10) and accept His cleansing and forgiveness
  
• We flee from lust (1 Corinthians 6:18-20, 2 Timothy 2:22), not standing firm like we would in other battles (Ephesians 6:10-14)
• We live disciplined lives (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8)

All of this is done in love for and for the glory of the God who has rescued us from the outhouse basement.

To struggle in futile silence while bedecked in a sardonic mask will only leave us withered and less effective men in the work to which God has called us. Aren't any of us perfect; to most, the mask is obvious anyway. They just don't know what's happening underneath.

Let's chuck the clown mask, confess our sin, and let the healing come.