This may be the hardest water to navigate successfully as a follower of Christ. It requires us to be careful of our associations, careful of our relationships, careful of our affections. And this last is perhaps the most difficult aspect of the whole issue, for all too often, the heart wants what the heart wants; and long before we understand the truth of the danger we are flirting with, we are ensnared by our affections. Now begins the evolution of our excuses. We will lie to ourselves about things we see, lie to ourselves about things we don’t. We will lie to ourselves about the thing itself, the person themselves, the habit itself… all the while telling our diminishing conscience that we are not doing anything wrong. We will cut ourselves off from every person who might warn us, seeking only counsel that will affirm our wants. The cauterization is insidious, for with no one left to speak truth to our hearts and minds, we will even lie to ourselves about the severing we have perpetrated. Unless God intervenes the whole end is nothing but misery and sorrow, for the nature of the thing is in direct defiance of the God who loves us enough to correct us, even when it hurts! It is for this very reason that we are warned to not even TOUCH the unclean thing, to have NOTHING to do with that which is not obviously and plainly of Christ. Ask yourself; "Does this bring maximum glory to the risen Christ?" That is the only question that matters. At its core, the mark of belonging to Christ is to love Him. To desire His wants more than we desire our own. To long for His approval more than that of the world, or its people. To love His Name, His word and His glory so overwhelmingly that the only family we know is the family which flows out of our relationship to Christ. The thing that drives us into the world to find some sort of fulfillment is the fact that we are not finding our fulfillment in Christ. Even now, the flesh rises up against this truth, even now the heart cries out in rebellion… for all of us, the point at which we draw back from full obedience is the place of our greatest danger; but wondrously, it is also the very point at which God will manifest the most glorious transformation imaginable. He delights in the metamorphosis of His blood bought children into the perfect image bearers of His precious Son. Fly to the arms of the Savior, and find all you could ever desire fulfilled in Him!