4 things to consider before giving in to sexual temptation: Ex-porn star, pastor weigh in
Ex-porn star Brittni De La Mora and her pastor husband, Richard De Le Mora, shared in a recent podcast four things people should realize before they give into sexual temptation.
The couple warned listeners in a March 2 episode of their “Let’s Talk Purity” podcast that sexual temptations don't just impact those who are single or dating, but they affect married people as well.
“Oftentimes, what happens is, the enemy is quick to tell you the benefits, but he doesn't talk to you about the repercussions of what would happen if you get into sexual temptation,” Richard De La Mora said.
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The De La Moras said the first thing that Christians need to consider before giving in to sexual temptation is if their actions please and glorify Jesus.
“Ask yourself this question: 'Does it honor God?’" Richard De La Mora said. "Oftentimes, when temptation is at its highest, it could pull us away from the Lord. And too often, we can find ourselves straying from God all because we're giving in to sexual temptation.”
Secondly, the couple said that Christians should ask themselves, "Is this worth affecting my anointing?”
“Even before we were dating, you had a conviction from a book," Brittni De La Mora said, speaking to her husband. "You wrote about having a vision, and one of the things that you wrote down on that vision was that you didn't want to fall into sexual sin because you didn't want it to hinder your anointing. Why did you write that down?”
Richard De La Mora replied, "Because the anointing is everything," adding: "It's God giving us this empowerment to help us with what we're called to do."
"And I think that's exactly what the enemy wants to do. … He wants us not to operate in our anointing. He wants us to operate in our own strength,” he said.
Christians need God's anointing to live fruitful lives, Richard De La Mora said, adding that it is "only the anointing that breaks bondages" and "breaks chains."
"It’s the anointing that helps us, and I believe here today that we're not called to be average people. We are called to be anointed people,” the pastor preached.
“When we are anointed, it gives us the ability to do what God has called us to do in a supernatural way. And I think that's what the enemy wants to do. He wants to affect our anointing. And how does that happen? Well, one way is … giving in to sexual temptation.”
Brittni De La Mora added that typically when someone falls into sexual sin, it is based on reoccurring temptations, and, "it's the demonic thought that keeps coming back."
"It's that woman in the DM that just won't quit. You know, it's that man that just won't stop pursuing, that just won't stop coming after you. And then eventually you give in,” she said.
Brittni De La Mora encouraged listeners to have "accountability partners." She noted that such people were helpful when she and her husband were dating.
“We didn't just come into our relationship with conviction. We stayed convicted. By doing what? By watching things like sermons. We also made sure to read the Bible together and pray together and ask the Holy Spirit to keep us convicted,” Brittni De La Mora said.
Third, when tempted, an individual should ask themselves, "Is it worth breaking trust?”
“Maybe you're giving into sexual sin in different ways within your marriage, and when your spouse finds out, or if they have already found out, you probably realize that the trust has been broken up. You've hurt their heart. And once you broken trust, it is so hard to get that back,” Brittni De La Mora said.
“It's not that it's impossible. You can definitely get that back. … Hopefully, you haven't given in to sexual temptation yet. And maybe it's just a thought. I once heard somebody say that they'd ‘rather confess the temptation than confess a mistake.’ Be open, walk in humility, ask for help.”
Once trust is broken in a marriage relationship, Brittni De La Mora said, it creates scenarios where the spouse that was cheated on has to constantly watch over their partner to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“Really try to get the help that you need before you fall into that sexual sin and just remember, is it worth it? Is it worth breaking my spouse's heart? Is it worth him having to check my phone every day to make sure that I'm not doing anything wrong?” she said.
“Is it worth him having to go through all of my DMs and my text messages and my emails to make sure that I'm not cheating on them or going through my browser, my search history to make sure I'm not searching and looking at porn? Because that's a great way to divide your marriage.”
The fourth question Christians should consider when facing sexual temptation is, "Do I want to battle with shame?”
“The Bible says that ‘there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus.’ ... The reality is, you know, God doesn't shame you. God doesn't condemn you. But the enemy does,” Richard De La Mora said.
“When you give into sexual temptation, the enemy will consistently try to shame you. He will throw at you your past mistakes. He will remind you of your failures and he is pretty persistent."
Richard De La Mora added that "at night, when you're going to go to bed, he'll start reminding you of doing these things. ‘Oh, look at you trying to get back up again. Come on, you know you can't do it. Oh, look at the mistakes that you have made.’”
Even when a Christian repents of sexual sin, they are still left to face the thoughts that the devil will send into their minds, Richard De La Mora warned.
“Understand friends, that when you repent, God restores you and when we repent, God will repair you. He does not bring up your past. The Bible says that when we repent, He 'throws it in the sea of forgetfulness,'" he added.
"But the reality is, the enemy remembers, and the enemy will throw it into your face. So before you give into sexual temptation, friends, I urge you, please remind yourself that shame is not worth it.”
Nicole Alcindor is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: nicole.alcindor@christianpost.com.
