Lust Is it Good or Evil
The Truth About Lust
When I think of lust I think of something bad. I think of evilness controlling my thoughts and actions. The lust for money, is greed. Lust turns our attraction for the opposite sex into something evil and destroys Love. Lust in the negative form corrupts. The word Lust in Webster is a passionate or overmastering desire, a sexual desire or appetite. We are created in God's image. I believe that we have similar emotions and feelings as God does. We have heard about the passion of Christ. Why did Jesus come to earth and die a horrid death. He did it with such great Passion, desire. He had and overmastering desire to accomplish what he set out to do. Jesus had this driving force within him. We also have this force with in us. When we use it for negative means we call it lust! When we use it for positive things we call it desire. We lust/desire after the wrong things. This lust is a force that overpowers even us and eventually becomes more and more evil.
The word “lust” in Scripture is the Greek word (ep-ee-thoo-mee’-ah). As we said before the word, in and of itself, is a neutral word; neither positive or negative. In the Bible its the context of the passage that determines whether it’s translated in a negative way (“lust”) or a positive or neutral way (“desire”). When we translate words many times it loses its meaning. For Examples, in I John 2:15-17 " 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." In this reference lust is used for that which “…is not from the Father…”. In this context the word “lust” is used for a desire for earthly things.
On the other hand, using the very same Greek word, Jesus said, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer…” (also see Phil. 1:23 & I Thes. 2:17). Jesus had an overmastering desire, a longing to be with his disciples. He knew what was about to happen to him. Understanding this word lust should bring a new form of desire to follow God. When was the last time you lusted for God?
The important thing to understand here is that Satan is once again using our very being against us. What God has intended for good Satan tries to use for evil. In other words, the very appetites, passions and desires of the “flesh” have a proper and improper fulfillment. When our appetite for food, sexual fulfillment, pleasure, and desire are used in the parameters that God has set up, they are healthy and righteous. When Satan deceives us into thinking that our lust is good when it is inappropriate or improper, are lust destroys us from with in.
God has given us every good thing. He created us and said that it was good. Yet when we use anything he created for our own selfish lust than it is evil. God is not against reputation, success, achievement, status, etc. In fact, God told Abraham, “I will…make your name great…”. The issue is how we go about fulfilling this area of life; do they become idols that govern us and lead us to operate outside God’s logical and loving limits?
Sexuality is good. God created it to be beautiful. He created it for the good of his creatures. He is the creator of it so he alone has the wisdom and the right to show us how to use it for his glory and our good. Lust or sexual desire becomes evil when we have disregard for God and His purpose in our life
Lust Dishonors Its Object
Take honor, for instance. God established a relationship called marriage. In it a man and a woman make a life-long covenant to honor each other with faithfulness and love. Sexual desire becomes the servant and the spice of that covenant bond of mutual honor.
Therefore, to say to another person, I want you to satisfy my sexual desire, but I do not want you as a covenant partner in marriage basically means: I want to use your body for my pleasure, but as a whole person I don't want you. And that is dishonoring and therefore lustful. Lust is sexual desire minus a commitment to honor the other person.
Lust than, is the negative form of a righteous desire that dishonors its object and disregards God. It's the corruption of a good thing by the absence of honorable commitment and by the absence of a supreme regard for God. If your sexual desire is not guided by respect for the honor of others and regard for the holiness of God, it is lust.
Lust Disregards God :
But that's not all. The text says, take a wife (or control your body/vessel) "in holiness . . . not in the passion of lust." Holiness has to do with God—being set apart for God. So verse 5 goes on like this: "Not in the passion of lust like heathen who do not know God."
Knowing God and acting like it keeps sexual desire from becoming lust. Look at verse 8: "Therefore whoever disregards this [the call for holiness], disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you." The root issue in lust is “regard for God”. Holiness is living in supreme regard for a holy God.
Just another Byte of Truth.
by Ron Bender
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