A few years ago, one of the respected elders of our church asked me to see a movie called, Fatal Attraction. I was surprised. It was an "R" rated movie with strong sexual content. However, he told me that it was spiritually important for me to go. 

      Trish and I went to see it together. For the first few minutes, we asked ourselves why this spiritual man thought we should see such a movie. Then the film turned dark. Titillation turned to horror as a weekend affair turned into something that was not a causal thing at all. Before it was all over, blood, death and destruction had invaded the peaceful home life of an accidental adulterer. 

      Some Christians might disagree with the elder's ideas on what is spiritually important. Nonetheless, I believe he did the right thing. Since watching that movie, I have faced some temptations. Perhaps, even had I not seen the horror of Fatal Attraction, I would have had the good sense to resist them, but I'm not sure. Oh, I realize that every affair does not end in murder or the kind of outrageous horror depicted in that movie. However, the movie is right to emphasize that we pay a price every time we cross a sexual boundary. Sexual sin is something we usually commit in private but its affects are almost always public. 

     
We might say then that Fatal Attraction is a true story; it is what always happens.
 
Genesis, chapter four tells the story of two brothers who try to worship God without reference to one another. Cain gets angry because his brother seems to have a better grasp on what spiritual life entails.  The Lord tells him to be careful with his attitude. "Sin is crouching at the door of your life," God says. "You better learn how to manage it." However, Cain doesn't pay attention to God. As a result, Cain becomes a fugitive and a vagabond. For the rest of his life, he must live isolated and lonely, "in the land of nod," or "nowhere." 

      Thus, from the very beginning, the Bible teaches us that we must learn how to manage the forces of our lives within relationships with God and others. The modern idea of the autonomous self simply doesn't work.  

      That's the message of Fatal Attraction. 

     This is probably the most fundamental difference between the message of the Bible and that of other ancient and modern cultures. Aristotle said, "Know thyself." Jesus said, "Deny thyself." These are not incompatible pieces of advice. I certainly have profited from the insights of the ancient philosophers, as well as those of modern psychologists and social workers. However, according to the scriptures – and I believe the experiences of life bears this out – you cannot really know yourself without first denying yourself. If you become too self-absorbed, always contemplating your own life and worth, you will inevitably plunge into a hell so deep that no drug or therapy can ever pull you out. But if you appropriately loose yourself – that is, turn your away from your own pain and loss – and commit yourself to knowing God, learning His ways and serving Him and other people in His name, you will find yourself.