A youth minister I know used to say to teenage Christians, “The time to decide how far you will go with a member of the opposite sex is not when you are in the back seat of a car.”

His point was simple. When you are caught in the heat of the moment, and emotions are running high, you will always make the worst possible decision.

The solution is easy: make significant decisions long before you are emotionally invested in the situation. He would say, the first choice was not to be alone in a car with a member of the opposite sex. Draw that boundary early, and you will avoid a bad decision later.

This truth applies to every facet of life. To protect your marriage, don’t be alone with members of the opposite sex who are not your spouse. If you struggle with the temptation of money, don’t become a treasurer of any organization. If you get depressed when you consume alcohol, then don’t go to places that serve it. Whatever your struggle might be, the best way to avoid it is to put up barriers in your heart that keep you from getting into compromising situations.

The things you pre-decide when your mind is clear will help you avoid mistakes when your mind is cloudy.