Within the realm of sexual sins, maybe you tend to look past Lust as “not so bad.” But, looking past Lust gives this quiet sin even more destructive power. In your journey to sexual integrity, you’re working towards becoming whole. And part of that work means considering yourself and others as whole persons. Lust dismantles that work one body part at a time. It quietly splits us from...
How Lust is Dividing Us
When compared with other things people might do, many of us believe lust is a relatively harmless thing. But what if lust is actually doing more damage than we know? It was Seth’s first night at his church’s sexual addiction recovery group. By way of introduction, each man shared about the sexual habits that led to joining the group: For most it was habitual porn use. Two men confessed having...
If You Want Freedom from Lust, Then Practice Fasting
Lent is a great season to practice fasting, and fasting is a great weapon against lust. What’s the connection? And does it really help? Adam and Eve ate from the tree that God had forbidden because the serpent convinced them it would give them what they wanted. Since then, all of us have grasped to fill eternal, infinite longings with immediate, finite things. Lust is one example. Finite things...
Why Avoiding Lust Can Be a Trap
If you struggle with pornography, beware a sneaky trap that may keep you going in circles. What do you do when you experience temptation? Most people with habitual patterns of unwanted sexual behaviors react to temptation in one of two ways: They lust or they look away. If I were to put it in a chart, it would look something like this: LUSTLOOK AWAYIndulgeResistRun Towards TemptationRun away from...
What to Do When Lust Sounds the Alarm
Pause and think with me for a moment. The last time temptation to give into unwanted sexual behaviors stirred for you, did you hear an alarm? (If you don’t struggle with a sexual temptation, the same can apply to other addictive behaviors.) I don’t mean a literal alarm, but for many of us, we experience one of two alarms, sometimes both. The first kind of alarm sounds, “Opportunity! Opportunity!”...
Why Lust in Marriage Isn’t Healthy
Often when I speak or write about the sin of lust, someone protests, arguing that lust within marriage is a good thing. I don’t believe it is. At all. Here’s why: Husbands and wives are called to love each other. Lust, as I would define it, is using another person for one’s own selfish gratification. And that ain’t love. Although sexual desire is not the only realm where lust creeps in, it seems...