Lust is another of the seven deadly sins which can easily ensnare our hearts. Lust is usually associated with sexual sins, though it is actually defined as an ‘intense desire’ for something, which can, of course, refer to other things (such as a lust for power or money, for example). Sexual sins are prevalent in our society, as they ever have been; what is perhaps more worrying nowadays is that so often, we do not even recognise these as sins. Instead, we talk of lust as simply fulfilling our desires and see little wrong in adultery, sleeping with different people or homosexual practices.
Lust has as its focus pleasing oneself, and it often leads to unwholesome actions to fulfil one’s desires with no regard to the consequences. Lust is about possession and greed, and is therefore the antithesis of love, which always looks to the needs of the other person above one’s own needs. The Christian faith is about selflessness and is marked by holy living (1 Thess 4:3-8; 2 Tim 1:9, Heb 12:14, 1 Pet 1:15-16). We need to guard our hearts (Prov 4:23), because Jesus made it clear that actions arise from our hearts (see Matt 5:27-30, Mark 7:21).
Over this Lenten period, we need to examine our hearts for lust. This can be seen in our thoughts, our speech and how we spend our time. Pornography is an increasing problem; we need to be ruthless in how we spend our time and on what we focus. The media constantly churns out justification for sexual sin and it can be hard to avoid images which tempt us, but we are urged to flee from anything that would trip us up (see 1 Tim 6:11, 2 Tim 2:22). This may well mean considering what Facebook images and videos we look at, what jokes we listen to and how we speak of other people. The Marquis de Sade, best known for his violent behaviour (sadism is named after him), said, “Lust is to the other passions what the nervous fluid is to life; it supports them all, lends strength to them all – ambition, cruelty, avarice, revenge, are all founded on lust.” Lust should have no part in our lives, for our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19-20) and we need to be holy, even as God is holy.
