Author Archive for: meiling

Romans 6:13 (NCV) reads, “Do not offer the parts of your body to serve sin, as things to be used in doing evil…Offer the parts of your body to God to be used in doing good.”

When temptation strikes, immediately initiate the Uproot and Replant strategy. Go nuclear on the immoral. Yank lust like a dentist yanks a rotten tooth—pull it out by the roots. Lay claim to scriptures like this one: “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV).

Meditate on Christ. Running toward him is the easiest way to run from sin. We keep wrong thoughts out by keeping the right thoughts in. Ponder heaven. Memorize verses. Write psalms. Listen to Christian worship music. In running toward God, you are running from sin, and the run is so much more enjoyable.

Don’t think for a second that lust has no consequences. And don’t think for a second that the consequences won’t lead to scandal. A secret sin never remains secret. Lust will take you further than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you ever intended to pay. Envision the worst possible outcome of infidelity and be assured, Satan is plotting to deliver it.

Even after you have turned away from lust, the filth lingers in your system. And long after the sin is forgiven, the soot of the sin lingers. And long after alcoholism is forgiven, the thirst lingers. Long after the embezzlement is forgiven, employment opportunities are rare. Long after the affair is over, the embarrassment hovers. Even the psalmist wrote: “Even my bones are not healthy because of my sin” (Psalm 38:3 NCV).

There is a difference between healthy romance and lurid lust. Lust is a longing for sexual satisfaction outside of a covenant relationship. What is the epicenter for the pandemic of lust? Pornography. Never in the history of the world has it been so easy to look twice where a person has no business looking once. Anyone with unfiltered internet is a click away from images that were inaccessible and unimaginable a few years ago.

Solomon asked, “Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?” (Proverbs 6:27 ESV). Or in our day: can a person view click after click, page after page, image after image of violent, deviant, degrading immorality and not be infected? The answer is no.

Our quest to manage life by taming thoughts would fail the test of relevancy if we did not discuss lust. To lust is to crave what does not belong to you. Lust and love are not synonyms. Romance is healthy. God wired you to connect deeply, enjoyably, and nakedly to a person of the opposite sex under the canopy of marriage. Ever since Adam saw Eve, the power of sexual attraction has been part of life. God gave sex as a gift—a wedding gift.

“Enjoy the wife you married as a young man! Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose—don’t ever quit taking delight in her body. Never take her love for granted!” (Proverbs 5:19 MSG). Delight in each other!

It would be folly to think life can be lived with no setbacks. But problems have no more power over us than we allow them to have. Remember, joy is more than a good mood. It is a deep-seated confidence in God’s presence, power, and promises. Joy might feel elusive, and finding it might take a long time. But it always remains an option.

Some of the saddest words in Scripture are recorded in Mark 6:5 (CEB). “[Jesus] was unable to do any miracles there, except that he placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them.” Why was Jesus unable to do the works? The answer is found in the next passage: “He was appalled by their disbelief” (Mark 6:6 CEB).

What a tragic loss! God was in their midst, and they did not seek him. Let’s not make the same mistake.