Mentoring Men: Lust

Whether you're married or single, lust is a constant battle that needs to be fought by men of God. The dictionary definition of lust is "1) intense or unrestrained sexual craving, or 2) an overwhelming desire or craving." The Bible speaks of lust in several ways. Exodus 20:14, 17 (NLT), "Do not commit adultery. . . Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else your neighbor owns," or Matthew 5:28, "But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Job 31:11-12 (NLT) sums up lust quite nicely: "For lust is a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished. It is a devastating fire that destroys to hell. It would wipe out everything I own."

Lust has as its focus pleasing oneself, and it often leads to unwholesome actions to fulfill one's desires with no regard to the consequences. Lust is about possession and greed. The Christian faith is about selflessness and is marked by holy living. The goal of each person who has put his/her faith in Jesus Christ is to become more and more like Him each day. This means putting off the old way of life of which sin was in control, and conforming one's thoughts and actions to the standard put forth in Scripture. Lust is in opposition to this ideal.

This is typically where I get the questions; "So, where's the line? How far is too far?" Bad question!!! The right question is, "At what point does this not become worship?" Sex, kissing, foreplay, oral and all other types of things that can bring sexual peasure are designed to remind us of how wonderful Jesus is, as the creator of such pleasures. So, if you can't worship Jesus while engaging in sexual activity, then it's sin. Am I saying to abstain from everything until you're married? Maybe! Personally, passionate kissing always tends to lead to sexual thoughts for me. Thats OK, because I'm married to Beth. For the single person, dwelling on sexual thoughts is sin and needs to be repented of.

Questions:

1. In what ways have you seen lust in your own life? Be specific and not vague.

2. Most of us know each other pretty well. In what ways have you seen lust in each others lives?

3. Can "You" personally worship Jesus and masturbate at the same time?

4. How can we fight lust and sexual temptations "together"?

Memory Verse for the week:

Job 31:1

Why sexual implications and nudity on TV isn't good for me.

I actually got a good amount of heat from people when I wrote a post on my thoughts of "Private Practice" and other TV shows that show or imply a bunch of sex. However, BT and Jessica left probably the best comment and insight on the issue. See Below:

This is a long quote, but I thought it was relevant. John Piper writes:

There are, perhaps, a few extraordinary men who can watch action-packed, suspenseful, sexually explicit films and come away more godly. But there are not many. And I am certainly not one of them.

I have a high tolerance for violence, high tolerance for bad language, and zero tolerance for nudity. There is a reason for these differences. The violence is make-believe. They don’t really mean those bad words. But that lady is really naked, and I am really watching. And somewhere she has a brokenhearted father.

I’ll put it bluntly. The only nude female body a guy should ever lay his eyes on is his wife’s. The few exceptions include doctors, morticians, and fathers changing diapers. “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?” (Job 31:1). What the eyes see really matters. “Everyone who looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Better to gouge your eye than go to hell (verse 29).

[...]

But leave sex aside (as if that were possible for fifteen minutes on TV). It’s the unremitting triviality that makes television so deadly. What we desperately need is help to enlarge our capacities to be moved by the immeasurable glories of Christ. Television takes us almost constantly in the opposite direction, lowering, shrinking, and deadening our capacities for worshiping Christ.

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/why-i-dont-have-a-television-and-rarely-go-to-movies