Let's take a Christian man and put him in a hypothetical situation.
He grows up in a strong Christian home.
He begins his own personal relationship with Jesus at a young age.
He excels at his job.
He demonstrates faithfulness to Jesus through decades of his life.
He gains a reputation for seeking and speaking the truth even in stressful situations.
He gives generously to the poor.
He commits Fornication or Adultery or Swindles someone out of money or Embezzles from a company or (insert any major sin)
Then he hides it, lies about it and then gets caught at it.
What happens next?
Everyone asks the questions,
"I wonder how many other women he's had sex with?"
"I wonder what else he has stolen?"
"What else has he been hiding and lying about that he just hasn't been caught at yet?"
He may have lived a pure life until the moment he fell, but suddenly every past deed he's done is doubted because his integrity has been destroyed and nobody trusts him anymore.
And it's not just his PAST deeds destroyed but his FUTURE deeds too.
He's with a woman which could be a completely innocent relationship but everyone is wondering if he's sleeping with her too.
Will his wife ever completely trust him again?
What single Christian woman who has been refusing sex before marriage will want to marry a man who has had sex with another woman and can't withstand temptation?
Who's going to give him a job where he has access to money again?
He robbed before. What's to stop him from doing it again?
He gave himself over to temptation just once ☝️ in a big way, didn't admit it, lied about until he got caught and it has cast aspersions on all his past and future deeds.
A person can be loved and forgiven for evil deeds
but
people can't just muster up trust. It must be earned and that takes time, integrity and sacrifice.
If you don't maintain purity and integrity you may never fully restore them again.
And if I haven't made resisting temptation and maintaining integrity important enough to you yet, ponder this.
If people know you are a Christian you will desttoy Jesus's reputation with your own and negate your ability to quote the Bible again with any authority.
"We need to be Salt and Light."
"We need to live uncomprised lives."
"We need to thoroughly deal with sin in our lives."
"God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can withstand."
Keep your word.
Keep your integrity.
Do whatever it takes to withstand temptation.
Stay Transparent and Accountable to SEVERAL people and if you do a major sin...
come clean,
admit it,
and own it completely BEFORE you are forced to admit it because you got caught.
The Truth with Love,
Always Laura-Lee
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