{"id":7779,"date":"2020-02-19T20:00:01","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T03:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=7779"},"modified":"2020-02-16T18:01:57","modified_gmt":"2020-02-17T01:01:57","slug":"job31_1-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/job31_1-20\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do You Know If You Are Lusting After Someone or Just Attracted to Them?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Job 31:1-20\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Today\u2019s passage is Job 31:1-20.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

On verses 1-20:\u00a0\u00a0Here in chapter 31, Job makes one last attempt to plead his innocence in different areas.\u00a0\u00a0He even invites a curse to be placed on his life if indeed he is truly guilty of sin in any of those areas.<\/p>\n

Job 31:1-4 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For what is man’s lot from God above, his heritage from the Almighty on high?
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong?
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Does he not see my ways and count my every step?<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-4:\u00a0\u00a0Here Job denies ever having looked lustfully at a girl (v1).\u00a0\u00a0Job says his reason for not doing so is because he knows that God sees everything he does (v4) and he would not want to invite disaster on himself by sinning in this way (v2-3).\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0According to Job, and according to Jesus later in the Gospels (e.g. Matthew\u00a05:28), looking lustfully at someone is sin.\u00a0\u00a0What exactly does it mean to look at someone lustfully?\u00a0\u00a0Here I should note that being naturally attracted to someone and lusting after someone are not the same thing.\u00a0\u00a0To lust after someone means to dwell on your attraction toward that person in a self-serving way.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0When you lust after someone, you\u2019re treating that person as if they are an object that exists only to serve your own sexual appetites, as opposed to treating them as a person worthy of love, dignity and respect.\u00a0\u00a0Lust is a sinful way to respond to a natural attraction.\u00a0\u00a0It reduces other people to objects, and it reduces you to a self-serving animal.\u00a0\u00a0Lust can end up enslaving you if you let it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>In contrast, when you are attracted to someone, a healthy response is to love that person \u2013 that is, to protect that person, to treat that person with dignity and respect, and to serve that person\u2019s needs ahead of your own.\u00a0\u00a0Whereas lusting after others enslaves us, acting in love toward others sets us free.<\/p>\n

Sometimes you can\u2019t help but be naturally attracted to others.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s just the way God made you.\u00a0\u00a0But with God\u2019s grace you can control whether you lust after that person or not.<\/p>\n

Job 31:5-8 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit–
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless–
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0if my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled,
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0then may others eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 5-8:\u00a0\u00a0Here Job denies ever lying to others (v5).\u00a0\u00a0He invites God to weigh him on His honesty scales, confident that God will find him blameless (v6).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Job calls down a curse on his crops in the event that he indeed has sinned by acting dishonestly (v7-8).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Contrary to what Job believes about his own righteousness, if God really were to weigh us on His scales as Job welcomes God to do in verse 6, all of us would be found wanting.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cFor all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God\u201d (Romans\u00a03:23).\u00a0\u00a0It is only because of Jesus Christ and the blood He shed on the cross for our sins that we could ever be blameless in His sight.<\/p>\n

Job 31:9-12 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For that would have been shameful, a sin to be judged.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0It is a fire that burns to Destruction; it would have uprooted my harvest.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 9-12:\u00a0\u00a0Here Job denies ever committing adultery.\u00a0\u00a0Job describes adultery as being shameful (v11), a sin to be judged (v11), and a fire that destroys and uproots everything that we work so hard to create in our lives and relationships (v12).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Job\u2019s assessment of adultery is bang on.\u00a0\u00a0As Proverbs 7 warns us, adultery is \u201ca highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death\u201d (Proverbs\u00a07:27).\u00a0\u00a0As attractive as adultery may seem to one who is not happily married, to commit adultery is to risk and potentially lose everything you have worked hard to create, whether it\u2019s a great marriage, a happy family or a good reputation.\u00a0\u00a0To give into adultery is to \u201cgive your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel\u201d (Proverbs 5:9).\u00a0\u00a0So be careful in this area. If you have fallen in the area of adultery, know that God wants to restore you by His grace.\u00a0\u00a0Praise God that God\u2019s grace is greater than our biggest mistakes.<\/p>\n

Job 31:13-15 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants when they had a grievance against me,
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account?
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 13-15:\u00a0\u00a0Here Job denies ever treating his employees unfairly (v13).\u00a0\u00a0His reason for not sinning in this way is because He knows that he and his employees are all made by the same Creator God, made in His image and equally valuable to Him (v15).\u00a0\u00a0He recognizes that God will hold him accountable if he treated his employees unfairly (v14).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Like Job, if you have people who work for you, may you not look down on them or abuse them, but treat them with fairness and respect.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Remember that God made them and loves them just as much as He made and loves you.<\/p>\n

Job 31:16-22 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless–
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my birth I guided the widow–
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a garment,
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and his heart did not bless me for warming him with the fleece from my sheep,
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court,
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 16-22:\u00a0\u00a0Here Job denies ever disregarding the needs of the poor, the widow and the fatherless.\u00a0\u00a0Contrary to Eliphaz\u2019s accusations against Job in Job 22:7-11, Job is confident that he has gone out of his way to take care of the poor, the widow and the fatherless around him.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God wants us to have a heart for those who are the most vulnerable in society and to take care of them in practical ways.\u00a0\u00a0As James\u00a01:27\u00a0says, \u201cPure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father<\/strong>, unlike Job, I find there are so many ways where I know I have messed up and fallen short of Your glory, but thank You that You declare me innocent and blameless nonetheless, not because of anything I have done, but because Jesus died on the cross for me.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You for giving me a righteousness that isn\u2019t based on my imperfect and incomplete obedience to the law, but one which is through faith in Jesus and His perfect and finished work.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Job 31:1-20.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!\u00a0<\/p>\n

On verses 1-20:\u00a0\u00a0Here in chapter 31, Job makes one last attempt to plead his innocence in different areas.\u00a0\u00a0He even invites a curse to be placed on his life if indeed he is truly guilty of sin in any of those areas.<\/p>\n

Job 31:1-4 (NIV)\u00a0
\n1\u00a0\u00a0“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.\u00a0
\n2\u00a0\u00a0For what is man’s lot from God above, his heritage from the Almighty on high?\u00a0
\n3\u00a0\u00a0Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong?\u00a0
\n4\u00a0\u00a0Does he not see my ways and count my every step?
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses 1-4:\u00a0\u00a0Here Job denies ever having looked lustfully at a girl (v1).\u00a0\u00a0Job says his reason for not doing so is because he knows that God sees everything he does (v4) and he would not want to invite disaster on himself by sinning in this way (v2-3).\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0According to Job, and according to Jesus later in the Gospels (e.g. Matthew\u00a05:28), looking lustfully at someone is sin.\u00a0\u00a0What exactly does it mean to look at someone lustfully?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7779"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7782,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7779\/revisions\/7782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}