YOU CAN REMAIN CHASTE IN AN IMMORAL WORLD

HE WAS dark  and handsome.  She was talented and beautiful.  They worked for the same company.  She showered him with personal attention.;   He gave her admiration.  They bought gifts for each other.  Soon they were lovers.  He left his wife for her. She, in the end, decided to stay with her husband and to call the affair off.  Halfheartedly he tried to return to his wife.  Lacking true remorse, however, he did not succeed.  Everyone involved continued on with life, though not unscathed.

Sexual morality is no  longer thought of as a virtue in this world.  The pursuit of pleasure ans satisfaction without restraint appears to be the order of the day.    The New Encyclopedia  Britannica states:  "Adultery seems to be as universal and, in some instances, as common as marriage."

Yes, Jehovah God desires marriage to be "honorable among all" and the marriage bed to be "without defilement."  (Hebrews 13:4)  The Scriptures declare:  "Do not be misled.  Neither fornicators, or idolaters,  nor adulterers, no men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men . . .will inherit God's Kingdom."  (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10) To enjoy divine favor, therefore, we need to maintain moral cleanness in this immoral world.

How can we protect ourselves from the corrupting influences that surround us?  In the 5th chapter of the Bible book of Proverbs, King Solomon of ancient Israel provides answers.  Let us examine what he has to say.

Next time: Thinking Ability to Protect You

Watchtower, 2000