Several months ago I did a post entitled, “Pastors, keep your penis in your pants” that generated a lot of interest. One of the main follow up questions I received as a result of that post was, “Why do pastors (people) have moral failures.” I believe there are four main reasons…
#1 - No Personal Boundaries
Call me legalistic…but I am a FREAK about particular personal boundaries…such as…
- I do not ride in a car alone with a woman other than my wife!
- I will not be on an elevator alone with another woman. (I have literally gotten off on a floor that was not my destination in order to keep this value.)
- I will not counsel a woman alone.
- I will not share a meal in a restaurant with a woman with it being just the two of us…under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! EVER! (And PLEASE don’t hand me that crap about how it is “business!”)
Those are just a few of the examples…but the bottom line is this men…YOU CAN’T HAVE SEX WITH A WOMAN IF YOU ARE NEVER ALONE WITH HER (unless you are an absolute freak…which is another issue altogether!)
Too many men have sold their ministry down the river just to have an orgasm…it’s not worth it men—we’ve GOT to make tough decisions now and be willing to experience some “inconveniences” for the sake of the Gospel!
BTW…my wife absolutely LOVES the fact that she is the only woman I am ever alone with!
#2 - They Think That Temptation Will Never Overcome Them!
One of the Bible verses that has ALWAYS stuck out to me on the issue of temptation is I Corinthians 10:12! Here Paul warns us to always be careful…because the minute that we think we have a particular sin mastered…we are in danger of that very sin actually becoming our master.
#3 - They Stop Pursuing Jesus.
One of the things I know is true about everyone of us is that we cannot pursue Jesus and sin at the same time…and if a pastor is trying to get in the pants of a woman who is not his wife…then he cannot claim that his eyes are on Jesus!
This is why I believe time in the Word of God is essential for anyone who wants to keep a pure heart! Men…we are CALLED to pursue Jesus…and doing so will always lead us away from sin, not towards it!
#4 - Stress
When a man pastor experiences a time of intense stress and anxiety he is way more vulnerable to be lured into sin.
Pastors…we’ve GOT to take the fourth commandment seriously (that would be the one about rest!) We’ve got to take care of ourselves emotionally, spiritually and physically…neglecting these things allows us to become an easy target of the enemy!
I believe that many times pastors and ministry leaders will allow the stress and anxiety of ministry to catch up with them so much that they see a “moral failure” as an escape of the life they feel enslaved to.
One of the things ALL of us need to keep in mind is that the church is HIS bride…not ours. There is no need to stress if we believe He is completely in control!
My prayer is that there would NEVER be another pastor to choose to fail morally! (I hate it when people say a pastor “fell into sin!” THAT HAS NEVER FREAKIN’ HAPPENED—EVER!!! Moral failure is NOT a sin that happens to us…we make it happen!
Men, I want us to make it…to keep our eyes on Jesus! PLEASE, if anyone is struggling in this area and feel like you are about to sin…GET HELP! PLEASE…talk to someone! (Many pastors will not do this because they spend WAY too much time trying to BE the Messiah rather than leading people to HIM!)