Hormones, passions- Why playing with sexual fire can be dangerous

Most people appreciate the dangers of playing with fire. They know not to play with matches especially in the presence of flammable material. Any small spark can quickly grow into a firestorm. In it’s proper place, fires can be wonderful and beneficial. They can keep you warm at night. Fires also hold the potential to burn your whole house down if allowed to rage uncontrolled. So precautions must always be taken when handling fire for personal safety. The Bible likens hormonal passions to a fire (Songs 8:6) and similar precautions must be taken when handling hormones in relationships.

 

Play with hormonal fire and expect to get burned.

People play with sexual fire because they burn with passion. They hope that creating a few sparks in their life will somehow alleviate a little of that burning itch. Little do they know that stoking a fire only makes the burn worse and not better. Fires never say enough. The more you stoke a fire, the hotter it burns and the harder it becomes to turn back. If you play with fire, expect to get burned (Prov 6:27-28). The hotter a person’s fiery passions rage, the greater burning they will inflict. The takeaway from this would be that people need to set personal boundaries and restraints long before their hormonal fires get out of hand.

The Hazards of Hormones and how they can burn out of control

Most people don’t realize their own hormones can burn out of control. This fact is usually what gets people into trouble and how a man’s own desires trap him (Prov 11:6). Continue to stoke a fire to greater levels and those fires can take on a life of their own. Without constraints, Hormonal fires can quickly spread and move well beyond the confines you ever intended them to go. They can burn your whole life down, while you stand there helplessly and watch; almost powerless to do anything about it. People often do not know what to do to stop them at that point. There is a point of no return. It is a point most people don’t realize they have crossed until it is too late. This makes playing with fire very dangerous indeed.

Know that you are not above these feelings

We have all seen cases of men and women letting their hormones get the best of them. Men who can’t see beyond a woman’s looks and realize she is taking him for all his money. Women who date ax murders who killed their last three girlfriends but persist in thinking his love for her is somehow different. We all wonder what such people were thinking in such disastrous situations. We would like to think of ourselves as smarter than that. So we don’t see ourselves as capable of making the same mistakes. As a result, People do not think that such a situation could happen to them. Onlookers fail to recognize they possess similar feelings and weaknesses. This thinking is what got those “stupid” people in that situation in the first place. As long as the fire remained small, people have the sense that they can contain and control their hormones. They thought they could play with fire and get away with it. There is a good reason why people are told to flee sexual immorality in Scripture.

Do not awaken these feelings except inside a loving committed marriage.

God made every person a sexual being; they are either male or female. Whether you know it or not, everyone possesses these feelings. The words ‘I never felt that way before’ are said by people all the time. They are said by myriads of men and women whose sexual feelings are awakened and triggered by the actions of the opposite sex. There are people out there who know how to light your fire; people of the opposite sex who knows how to push your buttons. Allow them to ignite your feelings and they too can burn out of control. They could blow up in your face. The Bible strictly warns people not to awaken these passionate feelings until a loving committed marriage partner is pleased to have them (Song 2:7, Song 3:5, Songs 8:4).

Why people stay all hot and bothered outside of marriage

Of course, all fires of passion begin in the heart. Things often get out of hand because people do not control their thought life. They do not take their thoughts captive as the Bible instructs. If people only controlled their thought life, hormonal fires would never develop into the huge problems we so often see. People fill their hearts with thoughts and images that fuel their fires much like a baker puts wood into a stove for cooking (Hosea 7:4). They become all hot and bothered because of the thought racing within their minds. Their hearts are stoked on a constant basis (Hosea 7:6-2). Keep your thoughts from racing and those fires would surely die out.

The Best way to avoid immorality is to stay away from it altogether.

For all their rage, fires do need fuel to keep them going. Without fuel even the greatest of fires quickly die out. The best way to be victorious over temptation is to stay away from temptation sources altogether. The Bible says to stay clear of the adulteress and to not go near the door of her house. (Prov 5:8). Scripture clearly says to flee sexual immorality. Sexual immorality is not something to be toyed with. The trap is always harder to fall into from afar. If you are not in an immoral woman’s path, she cannot set her sights on you. Staying away from her will certainly protect you. People fall because they were first found at the wrong place at the wrong time. Don’t put yourself in such bad situations. Take similar precautions in your own love life and a person will avoid the many pitfalls the befall others.