Bounce

We have to train ourselves to bounce away from sin; from that which ensnares our mind, our eyes, and our actions. I was listening to Fred Stoeker on Family Life talk about how he mastered his sinful nature. He said he's not special, he's not better than you or me, he just daily went to battle with sin. He lost a lot, but now says he wins more than he loses. And he reaps benefits; a better marriage, a happier outlook, a fulfilling relationship with Jesus, and a bigger pay check due to the book he wrote to help other men do what he did. Not bad. How can women get in on this one? We too have to bounce away from the temptation to sin.

Start with your mind.
"...we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2Corinthians 10:5
It all starts there anyway. Jesus really pounded this home in the Sermon on the Mount. You murder in your mind, you commit adultery in your mind; your motives and your heart are under the judgement of God.
So a thought comes to mind, an image comes to mind, a fantacy comes to mind... check it, and make it captive to the obedience to Christ. This is an endless task.

Make a covenant with your eyes.
"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl." Job 31:1
Ok, so I would never do that anyway, but the task is the same. What you spend your time looking at, is what goes into your heart and mind. And lets face it, women are not immune to lustfull glances at men; or to trying to garnish that from them. Jesus said "The eye is the lamp of the body." Matt. 6:22 What is illuminating your life?

Treat your spouse/others as Jesus would.
2Samuel 12:3-10 is the story that the Prophet Nathan told King David after his sin with Bathsheba and killing her husband. The lesson here is that the ewe lambs value to the poor man described in the story, is how precious your spouse is to God. From the male prespective this may make more sense; that they are to love and lead their wives. But we can still take the lesson and remember that God loves your spouse more than you'll ever be able to and can help you treat them with love and respect. Your sin does affect those closest to you. That's why this last part is in the plan. We have to move to loving behaviors that reflect a heart of obedience to Christ.

References:
tactics: securing the victory in every man's battle by Fred Stoeker
Family Life series: Every Man's Battle August 14-17/06