A taste of Christ

The only reasonable ammunition against sin is a clear and strong perception of the glories of Christ through His word and His Spirit. One who is held firmly by this excellence, perceived and enjoyed, will not darken the palette of his or her mind with the lesser pleasures of the flesh as long as the strong and clear fragrance of Christ is present. The temptation to sin many times will not even gravitate the desires of such a person, being mortified to an extent that the pursuits of the world may call, but like water off a ducks back they will roll right off the mind of such a person. If this perception can be maintained through discipline and regular spiritual exercises, the battle against sin is won. The battle is lost when we smudge the glory of Christ on the mirror of our mind with things that do not reflect Him properly. It never happens quickly, but slowly inch by inch the flesh takes back as the affections cool for Christ.
A Christian never runs straight to a "big" sin from this mindset; it is always a little negligence that pulls us away from Christ. Like Peter, we notice the waves, and then we begin to sink. Pride comes before the downfall. The affections cool before sin ensares. Here's where I'm pulling from:

"But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."

James 1:14-15

There are three steps to any sin given in these verses: First we have a desire. Then we are tempted and lured by it. Then we sin.

So here's what I'm thinking, If we fight the battle against sin in the desire phase...we can win more easily. There is nothing to lure us and entice us, there is nothing to tempt us. A man living in a house full of half-naked posters of women is not able to purify his desires. His desires have gasoline poured on them at every occasion. Desire must be guarded, and purified. It usually accomadates what it spends the most time around. What you plant in the mind, blooms in the heart. Guard the heart, for it is the wellspring of life.