1) For some reason I’m reminded again of this nursing student friend I had some years ago. Young, pretty, but with a streak of rebellion in her. For a while she was able to get her act together after joining a group of people dedicated to serving the Lord through music. Got very active in the ministry, read her bible almost everyday, attended weekly devotions and even undertook voice training in an effort to serve better.
But then, there came a period when she had to spend a lot of time with her friends at school for a group project. Went on a lot of out-of-town trips that were partly business and partly pleasure. Ever vigilant, her friends at church gave her some precautionary talk about not spending any more time with this group than is necessary, or something like that. “I can handle it,” she answered. She was clearly having the time of her life, which was probably natural since she’s young and probably enjoying all kinds of new experiences with her new group of friends.
One day, over YM, she blurted at my wife “PUTANG-INA MO!!!”
2) Another friend, a pastor’s wife. Also totally dedicated to the Lord and her family. She was also very intelligent, headstrong, and an overachiever, the type that wouldn’t let go of an anything without doing something substantial first. A woman who values her career almost as much as she does her family, she excelled at her job and made a lot of important friends in the business. Invested a lot of herself, time and effort into her career and met all sorts of people. At the same time, she tried to spare some time for the ministry as well.
But things hadn’t been easy. She tried to serve two masters. Believed in her inherent ability to juggle two different worlds, both of which demanded a lot from her. But she clearly became immersed with only one, and she wound up pouring her heart to her career more than she probably should have.
Next thing I know, she was having an affair with a coworker.
3) Another story about a pastor. No details. Simply that this pastor thought that socializing and spending time with some of his female friends poses no danger since he’s confident with his spirituality. He ended up having an affair with one of them just the same.
4) Jimmy Swaggart. Nuff said.
All of the above happened a pretty long time ago. All of the people I mentioned had repented since then and become straight with God again.
But how many people did they cause to stumble before repenting? How many people did they hurt in the process?
Two verses come to mind:
“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ ” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!â€Â (1 Corinthians 10:12)
I don’t care how much you claim that you still attend regular devotions and bible studies. As long as you continue to expose yourselves to situations where you could fall, you will fall. This has already been proven by hundreds of Christians who thought they could deal with precarious situations and then find out when it’s too late that they couldn’t.  Take the hint already.
Parting Shot: Here’s a rather amusing story I read from Reader’s Digest:
A man put out an ad for a chauffeur at a local newspaper. Three experienced drivers responded to the ad. During the screening, the man asked two of the applicants to wait outside the room, and then asked the one applicant in the room a question.
“When driving on a road near a cliff, how far away from the ledge could you drive without falling off?”
“Five inches.” Proudly declared the first applicant.
The man then asked him to go out and tell the second applicant to come in. He then asked the second applicant the same question.
“Two inches.” He answered, grinning with cockiness.
As with the first, he told the second applicant to go out and call the third applicant. The man asked the same question.
“I’d stay as far away from the ledge as possible.” said the third applicant.
He got the job.
