Every Time I Read This Story In Genesis I Recall ...

Every time I read this story in Genesis I recall a scary situation that happened to me as a boy. I was in Jr. high (my exact age slips me, but I know I couldn’t drive yet), and I was riding my bike to the gym, which was about 30 minutes away in another part of Chattanooga. I had no sooner left the house and headed up Mayfair Avenue towards Belvoir Avenue when, on the corner of Sweetbriar and Mayfair, an older teen guy – probably 17 or 18 -- pooped out of a woody section of trees and began waving me down. I was still several yards away, but heading towards him, when he said rather loudly and provocatively, “Wanna see a naked girl?” Suddenly, a scantly-dressed girl, much younger, came up beside him and smiled seductively. Uh-oh!

Let’s be honest, okay? I was a puberty rookie, having just started on that journey towards physical manhood. So my “T-levels” were going crazy, if you know what I mean. Add to that the fact that, for a guy, sight is everything, and here’s this girl trying to draw me into the woods with her body gyrations and slinky smile … well, my curiosity was peaking at a rather high level. I didn’t know at that time that I was probably looking at more of a dangerous situation – abduction or abuse – than I was a sexual one, which just goes to show you what was rolling around in my head. But somewhere in that moment of temptation God gave me the will power to pedal like the boy on the Incredibles! Man, was I outta there! They both followed me visually saying things like “C’mon, it’ll be fun” and “You’ll love it!” But no detour for me – and no discussion about it with them. I pedaled as fast as I could and headed for the gym!

Think about the silliness of this – What if I had stopped to have a talk with them about it? What if I had thought that I was strong enough to take on two people older than me who probably had intentions even more weird than that one line they yelled out to me? That would be just plain dumb! My best option? Hit the road, Jack! Yep, I would have been stupid to play with that fire. It was the smart move to be on the move. In doing so I cut sin off before it got much of a chance to grow.