Be Blessed: Lust

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” (Matthew 5:27-30)

As He did with anger and murder, Jesus links deep rooted sin to an act against others, punisble by the Law. In this case, He connects a lustful gaze to adultery, the defiling of a marriage bed. And His remedy for this is hyperbolic, but properly indicative of the severity of the sin: cut off whatever in you causes you to sin. Now, the Lord is speaking to a perversion of something good: beauty. He isn't speaking to a mere looking at a woman or even an acknowledgement of their beauty (and the same goes for women to men); rather, He's speaking to the gaze (and the second gaze) that draws one into uncontrolled, sinful (particularly sexual/relational) fantasy.

Again, lust is deeper than a simple gaze of attraction. It's nasty, it dehumanizes the object of the gaze (the woman in Christ's example), and it tears the "aggressor" into pieces from the inside out, it's disintegrating. But, rather than attack it with shame, the Lord offers a simple solution, albeit a rather extreme one. The severity of the punishment is indicative of the strength of the "bug," if you will. Sexual immorality is unique as a sin in that it's described as a sin against oneself, rather than just against another. Lust, heavily tied to sexual sin, though technically linkable to idolatry in general, is a symptom of a deep-rooted disease in the soul.

I was tempted to write about it as a symptom of simple dissatisfaction, to which the rememdy would be rewiring your satisfaction and finding it in the Lord. This would be simplifying your soul's diet, cutting down on the influences of media (and even negative people) that wreck so much havoc on the soul, and filling that space with the presence of God (via prayer and meditation); and that's advice I'd still give. But lust plays on a desire that's deeply rooted in many of us, and it perverts it. It takes something good, meant to drive deep connection in the proper context, and it takes control, drawing one to contemplate what's essentially a violation of covenants and autonomy.

Cut It Off, For Now...?

"So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." (2 Timothy 2:22)

Here I'll introduce an idea that I'll elaborate on some other time, it's still in the works. Essentially, it's this: if lust is something you struggle with, it may be wise to simply cut the desire off...(for now). It exists so deeply in the individual, that should it be needed in the proper context, it will return. But until that day comes, there's beauty to be found elsewhere (Philippians 4:8-9), even if just for a season; and a heart focused elsewhere, quiet and content in the Lord, will be prepared to care properly for whoever comes around to fulfill the desire someday.

The real issue is one of purity in the heart. Rather than playing around with it, though, it's better to let it go, to cut off whatever it is that causes you to sin, and devote that space in your heart and calendar (all the space, really) to the Lord—to the Word, to prayer, to fasting, discipline, and community—and to trust that God loves you and provides all you need. Lust is a beast, but the Lord is faithful to heal and redeem a broken heart. In order to heal it, though, He has to be trusted with all of it. So, if lust (or discontentment in any sense) is a battle for you, don't give into shame. Instead, confess your shortcomings, seek and accept forgiveness, and step into your identity as a son or daughter of the Father. No desire is worth your place in Heaven.

Be blessed.

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Verses to Look Back On:

Psalms 1, 51, 101

1 Corinthians 6:18-20, 10:1-11:1

Colossians 3:1-17

1 John 2:15-17

1 Peter 2:11-12

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Postscript: War and Violence on Lust and Perversion

Lust is really a byproduct of a lack of reverence for the Word of God—at first, simply a product of sin in the world, but once you know the Way out your blood is essentially on your hands (James 4:17). The unwillingness to cut is the invitation to compromise; and that compromise, no matter how you try to cover it up or mask it, will make itself known. It's a good as a rule of law, because out of the heart the mouth speaks and the man or woman acts. I've seen this in myself, that an unwillingness to confess and repent, honestly and humbly, will disintegrate you. The initally gentle tone comes from a place of understanding. Lust is persistent, and to struggle with it might feel embarassing or even hopeless, but the freedom that Christ bought for us is real. You only have to be willing to deal violently. You have to declare war on lust (on sin in general) and resolve to win.

Once you've resolved to act, I've found that the Psalms (1, 51, and 101 are my favorites) are great places to provide structure to the thoughts, prayers, and actions one can take to ensure that "the hand" and "the eye" are properly removed along with the cancers that plague them. The measures are simple, but not all easy (at first), and they're to be taken seriously. It's not enough to say these things or to say that you do these things, but it's vital that you actually step into the course of things and change the way you live your life (that's repentance). Seek righteousness, earnestly. The psalms recommend things like twice daily meditation on the word, genuine humility before the Lord, and intention in setting your environments, your "diets". These things I'll speak to another time, but for now, deal aggressively and violently with lust, perversion, idolatry, jealousy, and all the works of the flesh.