On Sundays our pastor has been preaching a series on getting the junk out of our lives. Although so far he’s preached on things like self will, anger, bitterness, and pride, the last two sermons have been about lust. Generally, we think of lust as being wanting someone else in a sexual manner. But he’s including desiring things in his definition of “lust.” So, for instance, you can lust after a new car or a new house. God’s not necessarily opposed to us having these things – after all, Deuteronomy 8:18 (NIV) says, “[R]emember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…” From that ability and work come wealth that we can use to buy things and, more importantly, to further God’s Kingdom here on earth with the money we use to support Kingdom churches, businesses, arts, entertainment, education, ministries, etc. However, when our desire for those things is stronger than our desire for God, we find ourselves in trouble.
There are several nuances to his sermons on lust, but today I asked him what the difference between “lusting” and “coveting” was. He agreed that they were very similar. However, when we are told in the Ten Commandments that, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17 NIV), note that those things always belong to someone else. When we just want [lust after] something that is for sale, we want the object. But when we covet, we want to take something or someone that another person already owns or has. When God says, “You shall not steal,” (Exodus 20:15 NIV), it’s succinct but explicit. Don’t take from someone else. The Amplified Version of the Bible emphasizes it this way: “You shall not steal [secretly, openly, fraudulently, or through carelessness].” Do not steal. Do not covet. Do not lust.
Easier said than done sometimes, though.
The vehicle I drive is over ten years old, has almost 200,000 miles on it and is starting to show signs of rust around the edges of the frame. This summer when the air conditioning system quit cooling the air, I started thinking about my desire for a newer, better car. I had thought about several different options for upgrades. (I thought the 2022 Jeep Wagoneer looked amazing until I saw the price – $70,000+ for a new one! GULP!!). Although for our family’s lifestyle and the area in which we live, having a functioning vehicle is necessary and appropriate, I have to be careful to not let my desire for a newer van overcome reasonable expectations. Finances, dependability, and functionality are all reasonable expectations that should be taken into account. In this situation, though, if I’m not careful, I can lust after that unreasonable (for us) car. There are certainly more dangerous temptations than a new car. For instance, for an addict of any kind, the addiction can be pure destruction. How does one avoid going to that place of lust?
In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he charges them to, “walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).” (5:16 AMPC) The “desires of the flesh” can be pride, anger, bitterness, self-will, coveting, or lust, but they don’t have to control us. When we habitually walk and live as people who are responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit, we won’t gratify our flesh’s cravings.
To put it another way, “Live your life as your spiritual nature directs you. Then you will never follow through on what your corrupt nature wants.” (Galatians 5:16 GW). When Holy Spirit is the guiding force in our life we live in resistance to the prowling of the enemy of our souls and in the victory that the Lord Jesus Christ bought for us with his blood and our salvation. We are no longer slaves to sin, but we slaves to the righteousness of Christ. If you want to be free of the struggles of the flesh, live a life in the Spirit. Pray with your understanding. Pray in tongues. Read God’s Word. Attend church services and participate in worship. Take the communion elements. And in all places and circumstances, listen to Holy Spirit within you and follow his leading.
God will never lead us into temptation; he will always deliver us from evil. When we delight in God and commit our ways to him, we can trust him to give us the desires of our hearts because they are the desires of his heart for us.
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.” (Psalm 37:4-6 NIV)
Lust after God.
Pure and Holy God,
Thank you, God, for the desires you place within us when we know you as Lord and listen to your Spirit. Help our actions to be focused not on our flesh or worldly desires but on furthering your Kingdom. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Help us to take delight in you above all else. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
“But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” (Romans 6:17-18 NIV)
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV)
“You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18 NIV)