Lust vs. Sexual Desire ናሙና

Being In But Not Of

Sometimes I think avoiding lustful thoughts is almost an impossibility today. There are so many distractions that cross our field of vision. There are people, billboards, media and all kinds of other things. I thought about wearing blinders like a racehorse to at least block out what is in my peripheral vision, but I still have to deal with what is in front of me. How do we avoid everything that could tempt us to lust?  

My decision is that we cannot. We cannot live shut up in our homes and never venture into the outside world. That’s not even practical and it keeps us isolated from other people. So what is our answer? I think Jesus gave us the answer when He said, “Be in the world but not of the world.” There are probably a lot of applications to those words but for us today, let’s apply them to lust.  

Jesus was in the world. He was around worldly people and was friends with a prostitute and an adulterous woman. We also know that Jesus was tempted by Satan three times. Personally, I don’t think that those were the only times He was tempted.  

I think He was tempted every day. The difference is that Jesus never crossed the line. He never sinned. I know some of you are thinking, “Of course, He did not sin because Jesus is God.” I completely agree. But don’t forget that in addition to being 100% God, He was also 100% man, and was tempted like we are in every way. The bottom line to this is that temptation is not a sin. That’s new territory for some of you. Let it soak in.  Temptation is just what the word implies. It is not a sinful action. Rather, it's a thought that could lead to sin.  

So for me, living in this world and not being of this world in regards to lust involves these steps.

• When an attractive woman crosses my field of vision, I have a choice. I can lust after her or I can “bounce my eyes” away, and move on. I choose to bounce my eyes.
• I often cannot control what I see outside my home but I definitely can control what I see in my home. That means there are videos, TV, and other media that I need to stay away from. It also means that my cell phone, tablet, and computer are not “lust stations.” 
• I pray daily for my sexual desire to be only for Nancy. I have been praying that prayer for a long time. From experience, I know that God will answer that prayer.

Today, those steps keep me focused on what God wants me to focus on.  It is consistently doing each of those steps day after day after day.  Am I still vulnerable?  Yes, but if I do these steps, I control lust in my life instead of it controlling me. 

Today’s Challenge: 

For the next thirty days, daily do the three steps Dr. Kim listed in today’s reading. 

Going Deeper:

What does the phrase, “Be in the world but not of the world” mean to you?