LIFE SCRIPTS

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:27‭-‬28 NIV

Lust is a vice that originates not from without but from within the hearts and minds of men. Clearly, as stated in this scripture, Christ was stating that the centre of the problem is not in the way women dress or carry themselves (even though they ought to be descent in their dressing) but resides within the hearts of men. The conclusion of verse 28 illustrates this ‘…has already committed adultery with her in his heart’. Lust is one of those sins which can grip us so strongly without the knowledge of any other person because its focus is on the heart. It is one of the most potent weapons in the enemy’s arsenal which he unleashes indiscriminately to all. Unfortunately, many of us have fallen not only once but on numerous occasions to it’s deceitfulness. The secret to defeating lust may seem far-flung in such an age of promiscuity. However, our Lord gives us a hint in this passage. He mentions the one part of our bodies that is easily lured by lust…our hearts and by extension our minds. The prophet Jeremiah states that the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked. The heart of man represents the flesh. Our flesh is fallen in nature. Lust uses our fallen hearts and minds to lead us to sin. However as Paul states, ‘Live by the Spirit and you’ll not gratify the desires of the flesh’. Lust is defeated only through submission to the Spirit of God. But we have a choice. To choose to submit to the Spirit or to the desires of the flesh. More often than not, especially for us men, we are driven by our flesh on issues of lust. The faculties of our flesh; our heart, our mind, our sight are held captive in times when we need to deliberately ‘flee from’ lustful thoughts and situations. Our eyes see, our hearts are drawn by the images and our minds justify the rest of our body parts to act! Indeed lust is not just a sin confined to physical sexual contact. In our days, it transcends the web through pornography or can centre itself in our minds through masturbation. So why do so many of us men succumb to lust yet the Spirit is there to lead us? The Spirit of God leads us towards the Light. He leads us towards Christ, the Light of the world in whom no darkness is found. The Spirit leads us towards the Light where all sin shall be laid bare. The bareness of our sin is not so that we might be judged but so that we might receive forgiveness and healing upon repentance. However, lustful sins hold us at ransom through secrecy. Lust thrives in secrecy. Infact, majority of victories against lust are scored immediately one chooses to be vulnerable to another person they trust. I can’t forget at one time in my life when I struggled with lust and chose to be vulnerable to a neighbour and a brother in Christ. He also had initially chosen to be vulnerable to me. We walked together in accountability. It really helped. I felt a great relief. It was a comfort to see that I wasn’t alone in these struggles. I had someone to walk with and pray with. See the enemy uses secret sins like lust as a means to lock out many from their destiny. He does that through building a network of lies in our minds cheating us that we’re the only ones struggling; that we’ll be the laughing stock if we disclose. Christ however states in the book of Matthew ,’Come to me all ye who’re weary and heavily laden and I’ll give you rest’. This is a call by Christ Himself. Our hearts can be swayed by a desire to sin. After sinning, we’re left high, dry, impoverished and feeling guilty. This cycle creates a burden in us. Christ is calling us to Him…to fellowship with Him and those we can confide in among His elect to gain freedom from lust.