Jump Start # 1686

2 Timothy 2:22 “Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

  Yesterday, we took a look at the word “avoid.” There are conversations in which the child of God needs to avoid. That sounds odd to us. Another principle like that similar to that is the idea of  “fleeing.” The Christian is told to flee. Go. Get out of there. Run. That sounds opposite of the “unmovable” that the Corinthians were told to be. That sounds opposite of the “stand firm” that the Ephesians were told. Stand firm. Hold your ground. That seems and sounds logical and right. However, we find those “fleeing” passages in our Bibles.

Here, in our verse today, it’s flee youthful lusts. In Corinthians, it’s, “flee fornication.” The Corinthians were also told to “flee idolatry.” The preacher Timothy was told to “flee” from the love of money. This can seem confusing to us. There are times we are to dig in and stand firm. There are other times we need to get out of there. Hold your ground or flee? Which is it?

We find ourselves in all sorts of trouble when we stick around when we ought to be fleeing. We remember Joseph, back in Genesis, when Potiphar’s wife grabbed him, he ran. He left his cloak in her hands. He didn’t go back for it. He got out of there as fast as he could. Had he stuck around, he may have gotten into trouble morally. In the words of the Duck Dynasty boys, “He’s gone.”

It seems that most of the fleeing verses surround sexual and moral situations. Youthful lusts—not youthful adventures. Not youthful attitudes. Not youthful ideas. It’s lusts. The lusts of the eyes is what got King David in trouble. Flee fornication—again, sexual and moral situations. We could even say this concerning, flee idolatry, since most of the idol worship involved illicit sex. Moral temptations are not the time to have a discussion, debate nor find ten things wrong with it. Rather, get moving. Get out of there. Flee.

Sometimes in our Bible classes we want to come up with some real fancy ideas and strategies about how to endure and survive temptations. We get brilliant with our solutions. The best solution is simply flee. Go, and don’t look back. We could discuss why a person is with someone who may tempt them. We could talk about the surroundings, finding spiritual giants to hang out with. We could try to identify things to look for as one heads down that road. We could study Proverbs 7, which is an eyewitness of an moral crash. Good stuff for a class. But when in those actual situations, it’s not a time for discussion but rather, flee. It may be at school. It may be at work. It may be towards a neighbor. Flee.

Fleeing may seem embarrassing to you. Fleeing may seem inappropriate without an explanation. Fleeing may make you look rather uncool. So what. Flee. You don’t owe Satan an apology, explanation or a defense. Get going and get out of there.

Avoiding and fleeing—two common principles found within the makeup of God’s people. We need to know when to avoid and we need to know when to flee. The purpose in both of these is our salvation and the good of the kingdom. Staying, when I should have left, may hurt my soul. Staying can send the wrong messages.

Parents need to talk to their teenagers about “fleeing.” Call home, and parents, go get them. Be thankful that they called. Be thankful that they want to flee. Lecture later, if need be. Compliment them on wise thinking and wise choices.

When traveling, away from home, flee from the very things that would hurt your marriage. Don’t be flirting with someone not your mate. Don’t be sharing private info with the opposite sex. Flee those situations.

Many a Christian looks back and admits, “Boy, I didn’t see that coming.” Nope, he sure didn’t. He didn’t have his eyes opened. He wasn’t careful. Be alert, remember Peter telling us that. Satan is roaming about like a lion. He’s looking. He’s watching. He’s waiting. Get out of there. Flee.

Christians must be street smart and spiritually awake, at all times. Don’t fall into traps. Don’t get yourself in situations that hurt you spiritually.

Flee. There is a time for it.

Roger