{"id":9111,"date":"2017-04-10T06:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-04-10T10:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=9111"},"modified":"2017-04-08T09:04:25","modified_gmt":"2017-04-08T13:04:25","slug":"8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/04\/8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation.html","title":{"rendered":"8 Ways to Overcome Sexual Temptation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-9113\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2017\/03\/tree-trunk-1159013_1920-300x176.jpg\" alt=\"tree-trunk-1159013_1920\" width=\"300\" height=\"176\" \/>Do you watch TV, go to the movies or read the covers of fashion magazines? If so, you may be led to believe that your sexual appetite drives your daily life. Why? Because this is a central message of popular media.<\/p>\n<p>Well, move over Freud, this doesn&#8217;t have to be! Even though our culture is obsessed with serving up sex on every possible platter, we don&#8217;t have to give in to these tantalizing temptations. It is possible to live in a sexually saturated society and overcome temptation. Here are eight tips to help you.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Know what the Bible has to say when it comes to dealing with sex. <\/strong>What you read and see in media will not typically line up with biblical instruction. The standards are different. Jesus knows the emotional, physical and spiritual fall out people experience when they cheapen sex and reduce it to pure pleasure. Therefore, His guidelines are not meant to be restrictive or puritanical, but protective. They lead to healthy relationships and help people\u00a0maintain dignity and self-respect. Spend time searching the Bible\u00a0for instruction concerning sexual temptation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Remove sources of sexual temptation<\/strong>. Temptation is not a sin, but acting on it is. If you find yourself lustfully fantasizing and engaging in behavior you know to be morally wrong, then identify the source of that temptation and remove it. The Internet may be one of those sources. Although we hear more about men being addicted to Internet pornography, women also struggle with this addiction. Purchase a good filter and monitor your viewing habits. The Bible instructs us to flee from sexual temptation, not log on and hope it doesn&#8217;t bother us.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be obedient.<\/strong> Don\u2019t be ruled by passion. No matter what you <em>feel<\/em>, act with your brain and not your emotions or your body. Scripture is clear that sexual behavior is always subject to the will. Use your will to resist temptation and say no to sex outside of marriage.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Renew your thoughts<\/strong>. Think on things that are noble, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8). This must be a daily practice that\u00a0we do\u00a0o intentionally. It is easy to become distracted by sexual temptation because it is all around us in the media. It is easy to allow our thoughts to wander and fantasize.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t put yourself in the position to be tempted<\/strong>. In the same way that a recovered alcoholic shouldn\u2019t go sit in a bar and try not to drink, don\u2019t position yourself to be tempted (e.g., go to X rated movies, read steamy sexually explicit novels, hang out in bars, get drunk, etc.). When Satan tempted Eve, she engaged him in conversation. Instead of telling him to go crawl somewhere else, she entertained his conversation. Learn from her mistake.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use God\u2019s Word to resist<\/strong>. When Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the desert, Jesus&#8217; defense was to speak the Word. Satan could not argue with Scripture and gave up. This speaks to the importance of knowing and memorizing scriptures. If Jesus, who was the Word, fought temptation with the Word, what better line of defense could we employ?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t lie to yourself<\/strong>. Most of us think we can handle a lot more sexually explicit material then we can. We aren\u2019t always aware of the subtle influence and desensitization that happens with regular exposure to this material. We deceive ourselves and think we are above these influences. If you are human, you are not!<\/li>\n<li><strong>Stay intimately connected with God<\/strong>. Spend time in prayer, reading the Bible and worshipping God. Remember, when you are weak, He is strong. Most of us give in to temptation when we are out of touch with God. Even though He never leaves us, we can stop communicating with Him. Stay connected and dependent on Him to give you what you need to overcome and He will. The more intimate you are with God, the more power you will have to overcome.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The next time you walk by the grocery store magazine rack and are tempted to focus on &#8220;six sizzling ways to have an affair&#8221; or &#8220;ten new turn ons for men&#8221;, divert your eyes and attention to the groceries in your cart. Then think about this. It&#8217;s just as important to feed your soul with good things as it is your physical body. Pay for your groceries and remind yourself, with Christ, you can do all things&#8211;that includes overcoming sexual temptation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you watch TV, go to the movies or read the covers of fashion magazines? If so, you may be led to believe that your sexual appetite drives your daily life. Why? Because this is a central message of popular media. Well, move over Freud, this doesn&#8217;t have to be! Even though our culture is&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[916],"tags":[3764,3765,1713,518],"class_list":["post-9111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-god-relationship","tag-overcoming-addiction","tag-pornography-help","tag-sexual-temptation","tag-temptation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>8 Ways to Overcome Sexual Temptation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/04\/8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"8 Ways to Overcome Sexual Temptation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Do you watch TV, go to the movies or read the covers of fashion magazines? If so, you may be led to believe that your sexual appetite drives your daily life. Why? Because this is a central message of popular media. Well, move over Freud, this doesn&#8217;t have to be! Even though our culture is&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/04\/8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-10T10:00:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-04-08T13:04:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2017\/03\/tree-trunk-1159013_1920-300x176.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"8 Ways to Overcome Sexual Temptation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/04\/8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"8 Ways to Overcome Sexual Temptation","og_description":"Do you watch TV, go to the movies or read the covers of fashion magazines? If so, you may be led to believe that your sexual appetite drives your daily life. Why? Because this is a central message of popular media. Well, move over Freud, this doesn&#8217;t have to be! Even though our culture is&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/04\/8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation.html","og_site_name":"Doing Life Together","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","article_published_time":"2017-04-10T10:00:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-04-08T13:04:25+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2017\/03\/tree-trunk-1159013_1920-300x176.jpg"}],"author":"Linda Mintle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drlindamintle","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/04\/8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/04\/8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation.html","name":"8 Ways to Overcome Sexual Temptation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/04\/8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/04\/8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2017\/03\/tree-trunk-1159013_1920-300x176.jpg","datePublished":"2017-04-10T10:00:03+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-08T13:04:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/04\/8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/04\/8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/04\/8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2017\/03\/tree-trunk-1159013_1920-300x176.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2017\/03\/tree-trunk-1159013_1920-300x176.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/04\/8-ways-overcome-sexual-temptation.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"8 Ways to Overcome Sexual Temptation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/","name":"Doing Life Together","description":"Relationship Doctor, Mental Health, Emotional Wellness, Relationship Advice &amp; Entertainment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142","name":"Linda Mintle","description":"It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems is so relatable. Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. Check out her latest book Hope and Healing for Anxiety, a whole-person approach to eliminate anxiety. .","sameAs":["https:\/\/drlindamintle.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/x.com\/drlindamintle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/author\/lmintle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9111"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9143,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9111\/revisions\/9143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}