How can you hate a guy who can stare death in the face, offer a wry grin, and calmly order his martini just the way he likes it, “shaken, not stirred.”
I don’t even drink, and yet I’m impressed.
Every time.
James Bond takes all of life just the way he likes it, and elects to die another day. And he can do this because, of course, he’s invincible.
Invincibility.
Wouldn’t that be Bond’s aura in a nutshell? (As if you could fit his aura in a nutshell.)
Who doesn’t want to be invincible?
And I’m not just talking about James Bond vs. the bad guys. Bond is just as invincible when it comes to the bad girls.
Actually, all the girls want 007:
- Good
- Bad
- Happy
- Sad
- Sporty
- Bashful
- Ginger
- Blonde
- Brunette
- Bald
- Sultry
- Sleazy
- Sleepy
- Curvaceous
- And those carrying concealed weapons
And how is James Bond in the face of all this temptation?
Invincible.
They can hang all over him. In all manner of dress. (Or undress.)
And James Bond. Is. Invincible.
Does he admire their beauty? Their charm? Their sensuality?
With the same wry smile he offers the face of death.
Sexual invincibility.
I’ve always wanted that: to be invincible when it came to women. To stand aloof, in a tux, beside a pool surrounded by bodacious babes in bikinis who’s greatest desire is to have me for dessert.
But they can’t.
Because I’m Bond.
James Bond.
And I am invincible.
If you can relate (and I hear even girls have desires like this) you need to know something.
This.
desire
is
wrong.
For starters, it’s unrealistic. Perilously so.
Scripture doesn’t suggest we give sexual temptation a sly smile as we order our martini (or cherry coke).
It tells us to resist it, to look away, to flee temptation. (That’s flee. Not free.) And there’s a reason for that: sexual temptation is dangerous!
Believing you should be able to brush off the advances of supermodels who regard you as the sun of their sexual solar system is as silly as believing you should be able to cross a swamp by running over the backs of crocodiles who regard you as the main course of their dinner. In reality, not even James Bond can do that. Only his stunt double. And he almost died.
We sometimes forget sin brings death. Not as dramatic a death as being mauled by crocodiles, but a deeper, more profound death. The kind of death where your soul writhes in torment even while you sport a confident smile and detached air; feigning invincibility.
So let go of the fantasy and embrace the reality of your limitations when it comes to sexual temptation.
The truth is, most of us not only can’t pretend to be unaffected by sexual temptation in real life, we can’t even remain aloof when we see it on the screen.
“Why yes. That flick did have a lot of skin, but I’m fine. Not like I don’t see stuff like that every day. I’ve actually seen hotter. Now where’s my cherry coke? Shaken. Not stirred.”
This is why it’s so imperative that we watch what we watch.
But there’s something else that makes this James Bond myth wrong: If we could succeed at maintaining the invincibility of James Bond in the face of sexual attraction, it would be sad indeed.
We’ll talk more about that next week! In the meantime, consider going deeper and discussing these questions with a couple close friends:
- Do you find yourself longing for sexual invincibility? If not, do you know someone like that?
- What do you think is the motivation behind the desire to possess sexual magnetism? Is it merely a sexual longing or are there other forces at work?
- What do you think is the motivation behind wanting to be unmoved by sexual allure?
- Do you think of sin bringing death? How should that reality impact the way you relate to sexual temptation?
- Can you see a downside of succeeding in the endeavor of attaining invincibility in regards to our sexuality.
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Our LoveEd discipleship series, Beyond Sex & Salvation, will empower you to grow spiritually and date wisely, so you can marry well.
This discipleship series is NOT for couples, but for the wise individual who wants to prepare for their future marriage like a successful career: intentionally, intelligently and IN ADVANCE!
This discipleship series is NOT about dos and don’ts. It’s about learning the life lessons, mastering the life disciplines, and making the life decisions necessary for relational success.
[originally published: 11/4/15]
