2 Timothy Devotional Sharing by Kelly Kang (Gracepoint Fellowship Church – Berkeley):

2 Timothy 2:22-26

22Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

James 5:19-20

19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

I think one of the toughest calling as a minister is to help people who have wandered from the truth to turn from the error of their ways and repent.  In the past 20 years of college ministry, I’ve seen many students fall into sexual sin because of relationships that started out “harmless.”  A lot of these relationships usually start out with something as “harmless” as on-line chatting or giving each other rides or doing homework together late into the night.  But in the highly sexualized college setting, these so-called harmless incidents quickly lead to sexual sin.  And once they cross the sexual boundary, they are caught in the “trap of the devil, who [takes] them captive to do his will.”  So, as a church, we take a very unpopular stance of discouraging undergrads from dating.  We encourage them to foster single-gender relationships and wait until they are ready to engage in courtship towards marriage.  We encourage them to “flee the evil desires of youth” and “pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”   Many people think that this is an extreme stance.  I think  this is one of the biggest lies that Satan tricks people with.  Satan will make sin harmless and casual.   For Governor Mark Sanford’s adultery, the whole affair started with something as harmless as email but it led to 12 years of deception and adultery.  Sin is very addictive and that’s why the Bible is very clear about what stance we should take towards sin – “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity” (Ephesians 5:3)

Someone forwarded me Casting Crown’s latest music video on the song “Slow Fade” that poignantly captures why this is important.

Be careful little eyes what you see
It’s the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it’s the little feet behind you that are sure to follow

It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It’s a slow fade, it’s a slow fade

Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray

It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day

The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you’re thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking

It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day

Oh be careful little eyes what see
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh be careful little eyes what you see