Sexual Temptation

I just wrapped up reading Living Above the Level of Mediocrity....EXCELLENT study, I deifnitely recommend it! With that said, this will be my last exerpt from that book, I thought this was an awesome comparison....

Referring to the story of Samson and Delilah:

It is important to understand that Samson's attraction to the woman's looks was not unique to him. The way men and women are drawn to each other is different, as Dr. James Dobson explains:

                 First, men are primarily excited by visual stimulation...Women, by contrast, are much less visually oriented than men...Second,(and much more important), men are not very discriminating in regard to the person living within an exciting body. A man can walk down a street and be stimulated by a scantily clad female who simmies past him, even though he kows nothing about her personality or values or mental capabilities. He is attracted by the body itself...Women are much more discriminating in their sexual interests. They less commonly become excited by observing a good-looking charmer...;rather, their desire is usually focused on a particular individual whom they respect and admire...Obviously, there are exceptions to these characteristic desires, but the fact remains: sex for men is a more physical thing; sex for women is a deeply emotional experience."

Knowing this, men, can help you develop a more precise and powerful strategy against temptation--both in what you are tempted by and in how you may tempt women. And women, understanding these differences can help you ease a man's battle with the visually enticing--especially in the way you dress--as well as keep you from being tempted by a charmers touch.

C.S. Lewis could have summed up Samson's mistake when he wrote:

                 "The monstrosity of sexual intercourse outside marriage is that those who indulge in it are trying to isolate one kind of union (the sexual) from all the other kinds of union which were intended to go along with it and make up the total union. The Christian attitude does not mean that there is anyhting wrong about sexual pleasure, anymore than about the pleasure of eating. It means you must not isolate that pleasure and try to get it by itself, anymore than you ought to try to get the pleasures of taste without swallowing and digesting, by chewing things and spitting them out again."

Samson's preoccupation with physical pleasure is one our society shares--in fact, its gratification has virtually become a national pastime. Lewis noted:

              "There is nothing to be ashamed of in enjoying your food: there would be everything to be ashamed of if half the world made food the main interest of their lives and spent their time looking at pictures of food and dribbling and smacking their lips."

love love love this :)