Why Strong Men Fall 2

Think back over the past few years at the numbers of famous men who have fallen from their positions of honor and strength because they gave in to the temptation to have sex with a woman to whom they were not married. Several of these men were known for their self control and moral integrity but that was obviously not enough to keep them from giving in to the lure of the opposite sex or in the case of some preachers and priests same sex.

Almost every sermon, book, TV program and lecture I ever heard or saw on sexual morality focused on will power. The arguments usually discussed the horrible impact of a moral failure and said outright or implied that if we all took a pledge of moral purity we would be able to resist temptation. From the case of the current General to that of Tiger Woods, Jimmy Swaggart and many others, what was present was a strong commitment to morality but they failed anyway.

What is the main issue then? In my opinion, it is a spiritual issue. There are several things which cause a male to be easily seduced by Eros.

1. Spiritual Dryness: Men, even those who have in the past had great spiritual encounters, who fail to keep the spiritual fires burning deep within and a member of the opposite sex comes along and the secret places of the heart that are reserved for the Spirit of God are drawn to her. The spirit of Eros is the closest thing to there is to the Spirit of God. When a male is not resting in the Holy Spirit as an active, alive, dynamic presence he is easily seduced by the Eros of a certain kind of woman.

2. Men who become powerful, gifted, talented and successful tend to depend upon themselves and forget to depend on God's Spirit.  When "Image Management" becomes more important than true humility and dependence on God, the flow of the Spirit is hindered within and the strong man can be quite successful without the obvious evidence of God's Spirit. Such men tend to be well organized, disciplined and angry. They do not allow others, even old friends, offer them helpful feedback or accountability.

3. Men who suffer a deep wound of the heart and whose fragile ego is damaged. This may cause the man to hearken back to similar wounds in childhood or adolescence that were never healed. The willingness of an attractive woman to affirm and offer love is a very heady temptation.

4. There is almost always anger, hurt and poor communication between the man and his wife. He feels unappreciated,   rejected, unloved and under served sexually by her.  He deserves better than this. She has not grown with him and is no longer his equal.

There may be more but these are a good start. The real danger is within not the woman that comes along. I have ministered to a lot of men like this.

What think thee? Write your comments. I would love to hear from you.

You can find a manual on Inner Healing and Soul Care on my web page book store. Look for Breaking Free.