Hedges

I just finished a book called Hedges by Jerry Jenkins. (He's the guy who writes the Left Behind novels with Tim LaHaye). It's published by Crossway Books. And I enthusiastically recommend it to every man who is serious about sexual purity and marital fidelity. The point of the book is that the best way to overcome temptation is to avoid it. But this idea is not original with Jenkins. 2 Timothy 2:22 says, "So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." (ESV) Some sins you fight; other sins you run away from. And you ought not to wait to run when the temptation arises. You ought to set up “hedges” around your thoughts, words, hands, integrity, and relationships that give you the opportunity to identify a threat before it gets too close. Sounds a little paranoid? Good. We ought to be. We ought to put no confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3). We ought not to lean on our own understanding (Prov. 3:5). We ought to guard our hearts (Prov. 4:23) with high, deep, and wide hedges. Too many lives, marriages, and ministries have been ruined by indiscretion and infidelity. We don’t need any more men adding to the sad statistics. Our homes, churches, and society need men with hedges for holiness. I want to be one of those men. And I challenge you to be one of those men. So I challenge you to read this book and begin setting up hedges in your life? Hey, what hedges have you placed around your life to keep you away from temptation? None? Then what are you going to do about it?