Lust

“So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning. ² And you won’t spend the rest of your life chasing after evil desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. ³ You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols” (I Peter 4: 1-3).

Contrary to power which most people desire, but most likely will never attain, lust is a sin that afflicts all of humanity without respect of person.  As a result of our sexual lusts pornography has taken an immense hold on our society.  Because we lust after our neighbor’s possessions we work so hard and so long that we abandon the greatest gift God has given us, our children and our families.

It is very interesting that the Greek word for lust epithymia is the same word used by many of the biblical writers to express any strong desire.  Luke uses the word epithymia to refer to an intense and pure desire of Christ (Luke. 22:15).  Paul uses epithymia in his letter to the Philippians to express his desire to be with Christ, and in his letter to the church at Thessalonica to express his longing to see his converts (1 Thessalonians 2:17).

How can a word in one instance express a good desire and in another express a deadly sin?  The answer, I believe, lies in our view of sin.  In his devotional, “My Outmost for His Highest”, Oswald Chambers titles the June 23^rd reading “Acquaintance with Grief.”  In it he posits, “At the beginning of life we do not reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin. We take a rational view of life and say that a man by controlling his instincts, and by educating himself, can produce a life which will slowly evolve into the life of God.”

For Chambers sin has a way of making all things wild and not rational. “We have to recognize that sin is a fact, not a defect; sin is red-handed mutiny against God. Either God or sin must die in my life.” Lust is the acceptance of sin in our lives and in our workplace as a human defect which we can not do anything about.  Yet, we must see lust as a moral choice to be avoided, which if not has the power to destroy us.  When we look upon lust in the manner in which Luke, Paul and many other biblical writers look at it, we can appropriate its power for our lives.

Lord, allow me lust after you and not the world.

Meditation:  When you think of the word lust what comes to your mind?  If sin, then ask God to give you a lust for His word.

Jorge L. Valdes, Ph.D.

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