How to Win, part 4 - Run Away, Run Away!

There’s this guy named Tito. Tito is not a nice guy. Tito likes hurting people, especially me. He hangs out on a street corner I walk by on the way to work, and pretty much whenever I see him, we get in a fight. Not just a little disagreement or shoving match – a fight, the kind that doesn’t end until someone pulls the two of you apart or one of you can’t get up.

Those fights hardly ever seem to go well. Two fights ago, he cracked two of my ribs. In the course of the fights with him, I’ve lost a couple teeth, gotten three concussions, dislocated both shoulders, hyper-extended my left knee, broken my wrist, and forgotten how many stitches I’ve ended up needing. But I’m not going to let that guy beat me, so I keep going back there, and even though I lose more than I win, and even though I get hurt badly every time I lose, I keep fighting him, because, hey, I’ve got my pride.

Probably every man who reads this is nodding, either hoping they’d do the same thing, thinking about the times they’ve done the same thing (and proud of it), or wishing they had the guts to do the same thing. Men, we’re stupid sometimes, aren’t we? (It’s not like we’ve got a monopoly on stupidity; I could tell you stories, if I didn’t value my life… but isn’t this pretty typical guy thinking? Isn’t this rooted in pride, and don’t we know where that leads?)

There is no guy named Tito. Well, okay, there is, and he really is a tough guy, so, Tito, if you’re out there, I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m not exactly a cupcake, but I’ve got NO desire to end up facing off with you.

But Tito or no Tito, there is temptation. It’s like that big bruiser just waiting for you to come by so he can pick a fight with you. Now, you may be a tough guy yourself, but you know you don’t always win those fights. And whatever your win-loss record, you know that when you lose, man, it hurts.

Paul told his protégé Timothy in II Timothy 2:22, “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” He didn’t say to stand up to and fight the lusts head on – he told him to run, Timothy, run.

You can’t lose a fight you’re not in. So why go by that corner where the bruiser is waiting for you? Much of the time, we could beat addictions a lot more easily if we got serious about cutting off the sources of temptation.

Problem with drinking? Don’t go near a bar, and don’t hang out with friends who drink. Problem with drugs? Yeah, it might get ugly, but find a way to cut yourself off from your supply, even if it means turning people in to the police. Problem with lust/porn? Get a filter and/or tracker (such as Covenant Eyes) on your computer, and stay away from entertainment and places that make it hard to control what you look at.

This will probably mean changing the places you go, the things you usually do, and the people you hang around with. But then, do you really want to stay the same? If this will help you escape that addiction, isn't it worth it?

Get smart. You know yourself enough to know when and where you usually give in to temptation – the best defense is no be there.

If you’re trying to reduce the battles you lose, there are two things you can do – prepare to win more of the fights you’re in, and avoid any fight you can. A smart Christian will do both of those. You can’t avoid every temptation, because this is a pretty messed-up world we’re in. But you should avoid every one you reasonably can.

Don’t stroll by the corner hoping you can beat Tito this time – take another way to work, so you get there with your ribs intact.