Be prepared

We need to coach our kids to think through how they will respond when temptations come -- before they come. We talk to our kids about what they will do if/when someone offers them a joint, or if they're with a group of kids who start vandalizing property, or if they see a Playboy magazine at someone's house. There simply isn't time to calculate the right responses when some temptations come at us so quickly, and the longer the temptation hangs there in front of us the less likely we are to turn away. (Though it's always possible with Christ's help -- see 1 Cor 10:13. We try to prepare them for potential peer pressure or scorn for making God-honoring choices. This is training.

What about you, brother? Have you thought through your response plans? List out four kinds of temptations you're more vulnerable to, imagine scenarios, and prayerfully make your commitments on how you will respond.

Here's a good scenario to think through: If you were General Boykin getting flamed by NPR and newspapers and the Arab American Insitute for making public statements consistent with the truths of the New Testament, how would you respond? (If you aren't familiar with this story, you can start with Ann Coulter's column -- I sometimes cringe when I read her columns, because she can be shrill, but she makes good points.)