My First Playboy
I can remember it like it was yesterday. I don’t know how old I was but I know I was a young teenager so it had to be at least 20 years ago. It was after school and I went home and decided I wanted to ride my bike that day. My mom didn’t like me riding on the road but mom was busy that day so I decided to ride on this nice little straightaway in front of our house. The paved road was so much better than our gravel driveway. So off I went, I was probably no more than a half a mile from my house, when I saw it.
What it was doing in the ditch on the side of the road I will never ever know. I had never seen one that close before but I knew exactly what it was and what was on the inside. And that is exactly why I picked it up, quickly looked around to see if any of the neighbors had seen me, and took off back to my house. It was like suddenly my bike was the biggest and baddest Harley in town because I was racing to get home!
I remember going under the carport because nobody would see me there. It was just me and my very first Playboy magazine. Now mind you I had been in church my whole entire life, was saved at a young age, and was still very active in church at this time. But this was a free Playboy magazine that nobody knew I had. I knew it was wrong to have it and look at, but did I mention this was a Playboy magazine!!! And mind you I was a young teenager very capable of reading, but I can honestly say I did not read one single article that day. I was much more interested in other things.
So I looked it over once or twice or fifteen times and then had a decision to make. What do I do with this little treasure? If my mom or dad found it in my room or in the house I would no longer live there because plain and simple I would no longer live period. I thought about hiding it in the car or around the house somewhere, but my fear of dying actually made me have at least a little good judgment that day. So off on my bike I went to put the Playboy right back in the ditch where I got it from.
Fast forward to the very next day… Guess what our young friend Keith did? Now if you know me at all I’m not much one for exercise, but on this particular day I decided I needed another bike ride. That’s right I went looking for that Playboy because I wanted to “read” it again. So I got to the place in the ditch where I had left it but it was gone. To this day I don’t know how it disappeared because I’m pretty sure I hid it in the weeds pretty good so nobody else could find it. You know this isn’t one of my finer moments in life. I shared this story with my youth not too long ago because it is a perfect object lesson on sin. I did not get on my bike that first day and go for a ride to search the ditches for a Playboy! That thought never even crossed my mind. But it found me. And that’s what sin will do, you may not be looking for it, but satan is looking for you and he will take any and every opportunity to see you stumble and fall. Especially when you least expect it.
Another thing is that sin is desirable. Satan makes it look good! I couldn’t wait to get home and ride my bike the next day so I could go get my Playboy and take it back to the house again. Yes I knew it was wrong but I didn’t care! You see Playboy is full of naked women in case you didn’t know and I wanted to see them. I was a teenage boy I mean come on! Sin can entrap us. Sin will entrap us. Oh if we are not constantly mindful of that!!!
You know my first Playboy was also my last Playboy. I haven’t looked at one since. Can I say that will always be true? I hope so, but honestly I don’t know. I know what I’m capable of. I’m not a teenage boy but I’m still a man and I know the things that satan will use to tempt me. It would only take a snap decision for me to look at one again. If we are not constantly mindful of satan and mindful of the things that we are capable of doing…well that is when we will find ourselves in a ditch.
And that is exactly where he wants us.
