After countless conversations with people who are struggling through sexual purity issues, I occasionally stop and think about my own life. Do my words match my actions?

When I am listening to a man share his harmful habits it is easy for me to direct them. I often lay out a list of next steps and say, “If you follow these steps then you will give yourself a running chance at success and minimize the destruction of your relationships.”

Every time they walk out of my office I am immediately on to the next thing, the next person, the next assignment, or the next task on my to-do list. I am thankful for the days when I stop and think before moving on (a habit I should practice far more often). It is in those moments of deep thought I am convicted by my arrogance. How have I allowed some of these critical components I suggest to others slip away in my own life?

Where is the deep space for God to move in my life? Where is the honest accountability? Where is the unmatched discipline of prayer?

If you are like me, then it is easy to become so busy with others that you neglect your own personal growth commitments. I have to stop and ask myself, “Do you really think you are all that?” Do I possess some power to win day in and day out in my battle for purity without putting in to practice the recommendations I give to others?

I think the answer is: only for a time. No Pastor is so Godly that he or she is exempt from a fall. You are not all that. I am not all that.

Make room today in your schedule and reorganize your life around the very principles you speak about, instruct others, and passionately preach to your church.