No guy wakes up and thinks, "Boy howdy, I sure hope I can find some time to look at some porn today!"

No Christian wife intends to have an affair.

If that's the case, why does it still happen? If Christians intend on remaining pure and living holy lives, then why does it happen?

I think it's because we think purity is just supposed to happen. Like after we get saved, it's supposed to be in our DNA or something. Yeah, it doesn't work like that.

Proverbs 7 has a lot to say about this. Here's the story in a nutshell:

• a young man was walking down the street, minding his own business
• the harlot "caught" him
• he "strayed" into her paths
• they had sex
• everyone "slain" by the harlot were "strong" men

I don't believe the man in the story was taking a walk for the purpose of finding a prostitute. His motive was not as much sinful as it was careless.

I might not ever come face to face with a prostitute on some street corner late at night. However, I am faced with situations like this all the time.

• A provocative ad pops up on my computer
• A female with a low-cut blouse bends down to pick something up
• A certain commercial comes on TV

In all of these situations I do not go into it intending to lust. I don't ever want to.

Both the man from Proverbs 7 and my own life tell me that purity doesn't just happen. I have to be intentional about it. I have to prepare for what I'm going to do in certain situations. If I'm not prepared for an attack, then how can I expect not to fall?

Purity is a battle. It's literal spiritual warfare. No one would go into a game or a war without some kind of plan. If you have no plan, you will lose. If you're not intentional, you will fall. 

Here's some things I do to be intentional about my purity.

1. Fill my mind with Scripture--right now my wife and I are memorizing Psalm 63 (we're on verse 9 now).
2. Talk to my wife about my struggles with lust--she knows everything I've done in my past. I tell her when I am tempted to lust or even when I watched a cetain TV show too long or when I looked at another woman inappropriately. There's something about verbalizing things that make it easier. And doing this with my wife is wonderful for me. If you're not married, you have to find someone you can talk to.
3. Avoid situations that could lead to something else--I have friends that are girls, but they are all very casual. I have no good female friends who are not my wife (I intend on keeping it this way too). I don't tell them my thoughts on things, I don't go places with them, I don't talk to them privately without telling my wife about it. I will never be alone with a female who is not my wife. I try my hardest to avoid riding in a car with a female who is not my wife (except family).   
4. When a lustful thought comes, I fill my mind with something else. Sometimes lustful thoughts come and you don't even know why. This might seem weird, but when I have a lustful thought, I say the verse "I will set no wicked thing before my eyes." And then I think about playing baseball (I guess some of you who hate baseball might consider baseball to be wicked--if so, I'm sorry). Here is something John Piper wrote about replacing lustful thoughts with other thoughts (this is very good): http://is.gd/3wLrG.

No one intends to be impure. I don't, and you don't. We have to be intentional about it if we're going to win this war. And believe me, it is a war.

I welcome your dialogue on ways you are intentional about remaining pure.

@JacobRiggs