loveisgreaterthan[dot]com

not sure why i’m up so late, but i am… so whatever.

i was reading through some blogs and i found this one on ragamuffin soul. it absolutely broke my heart… click here to read, or check out a quote below:

One week ago David Trotter, pastor of Revolution Church in Long Beach CA and a blog acquaintance of mine wrote this on his blog… …That was the last post he wrote on his blog.

Just 2 days prior he informed his church that he was taking a sabbatical because God was nudging him to figure some things out.

Two days after he wrote that post, he left his wife and 2 kids for another woman.

i would be straight-faced lying to you if i sat here and typed something about how i can’t imagine how guy could do this. no joking here, really… we are ALL one or two steps away from making a HUGE mistake in our lives. not a single day goes by where i do not face some sort of temptation, whether it be from the opposite sex, alcohol, or any other of a number of ways to screw something great in my life up.

there used to be times where i absolutely resented some of the rules we have in place at cedarcreek to help safeguard the employees against sexual sin. i was going to link to them here, as i thought we still had them displayed on our website, but unfortunately i cannot find the link on our site. luckily, i did find them on saddleback church’s (we adopted it from them.) here are the rules i have to live by to work at cedarcreek… some of you may look at them and freak out, some may not… check it:

1. Thou shalt not go to lunch alone with the opposite sex. *
2. Thou shalt not have the opposite sex pick you up or drive you places when it is just the two of you.*
3. Thou shalt not kiss any attender of the opposite sex or show affection that could be questioned.*
4. Thou shalt not visit the opposite sex alone at home. *
5. Thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex alone at the office, and thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex more than once without that person’s mate. Refer them.
6. Thou shalt not discuss detailed sexual problems with the opposite sex in counseling. Refer them.
7. Thou shalt not discuss your marriage problems with an attender of the opposite sex.
8. Thou shalt be careful in answering emails, instant messages, chatrooms, cards or letters from the opposite sex.
9. Thou shalt make your co-worker your protective ally.
10. Thou shalt pray for the integrity of other staff members.

* The first four do not apply to unmarried staff.

this is not a joke, we take it very seriously. why? because we are well aware of the temptations we all face. again, i would be straight-faced lying to you if i said that i thought myself above this. and honestly, who amongst you can say otherwise? these rules, while i admit to resenting them at times, are there for a very good reason and i have grown thankful for them. they’ve been around for a few years now, and honestly i barely even notice them anymore.

a lot of us, especially the guys, even go so far as to have accountability software installed on our computers (x3watch for most of, myself included), the internet is a very tempting place!

but this is just one aspect… just one way to “fall.” even these rules cannot protect me all the time. even with these rules times will come where i will have to take a step back and acknowledge that maybe i have to change a behavior or a relationship. it’s difficult, i am not going to lie… but it’s worth the trouble. my wife, my life, my career, are all worth the trouble.

what about you? what lengths… if any, do you go to to help safeguard yourself from a “fall?”