I did. And they were raunchy ones, too.

Funny thing is, I never told them in public. I had lots of reasons. I was on the youth staff…what if another adult heard me telling a student one of those jokes? I could have been accused of sexual harassment, which could have lead to a legal mess. What if the pastor heard me telling a friend? It could have damaged my reputation. What if I told a racial joke around someone sensitive to racial discrimination? I could have hurt their feelings.

I was thinking about this the other day and, all of a sudden, it dawned on me: Stopping something because it’s inappropriate in public is merely putting a band-aid over a much deeper problem.

Whenever I have something that I stop doing because it’s inappropriate in public, I should immediately ask myself why I am even doing it. Is it for acceptance? Is it to fulfill some repressed desire I have, something I’m afraid to admit? Is it because I am immature? Is it because I have become desensitized by what I watch on television and in movies? Why am I doing this?

Maybe when I’m in this situation it’s time to ask God to reveal the things in my life that aren’t pleasing to Him. Maybe, as I allow God to work on those things, they will naturally just disappear, along with the very desire to ever do them again. Maybe it’s a matter for some soul-searching.