I speak for myself when I confess to you that I am susceptible to the lust of the flesh, which is also idolatry. I shamefully admit that in my life I have been a health fanatic; a weight-training fanatic; struggled with eating disorders; struggled with vanity and ego; been extremely vulnerable to men’s attention; struggled with the shame and guilt of falling for flattering words of lust thinly disguised as admiration or love; flattered other people for their appearance; and wrestled with my own eyes with lusting after the outward man.
Each day, I have to be reminded by the Holy Spirit not to acknowledge myself or anyone else on the outward. Not their bodies, not their accomplishments, not their wisdom or knowledge, not even their so-called super spirituality. Jesus has to guide me every step of the way as the world never ceases to war against His Spirit in me. I don't kid myself anymore. There is nothing good in my flesh that agrees with the Lord. It is only Jesus Christ alive in me that is holy. And God alone is able to keep me from falling away, so long as I hear and obey His Voice. Praise His Holy Name!
In Mark 4:19, the Word reads that "the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and lusting after people and things choke out God’s Word in us, and we become unfruitful."
James 1:14 – God’s Word says, "EVERY MAN IS TEMPTED when they are drawn away by their own lust and enticed."
Temptation is not a sin, as Jesus was tempted. You and I are tempted, too. The problem is, when we entertain the thing tempting us, get drawn away from the Lord by it, and try to justify it as acceptable, we will inevitably find ourselves floundering in unstable, dark territory.
Our flesh (intellect, ego, affections, carnal mind) is never in agreement with God as it cannot receive anything from God.
I Corinthians 2:14 tells us that we can only discern the Truth of God spiritually. Our intellect and instincts will never agree with God. We can’t justify lust no matter how we try to cover it up with “attraction”, “admiration”, or “appreciation”.
2 Corinthians 5:16 instructs us: "From now on, do not regard anyone according to the flesh. Although we once regarding Jesus in this way, WE DON’T DO IT any longer."
Stop it! Stop drawing attention to appearances. Romans 1:25 reads that "God gave some people over to their vile affections for one another, idolizing the creation rather than the Creator, lusting in their hearts and dishonoring their bodies with each other."
The simple truth is: Admiring the creation rather than the creator (lusting) is off the mark. If you are having a problem with lust, the Bible instructs you to get married. The goal to keep in mind is marry someone equally yoked with you. That means someone striving toward and accomplishing the same spiritual goals as you. Otherwise, you’re going to be striving against each other and it’ll be a miserable marriage and detrimental to your walk in Christ.
Find someone who's willing to abandon him or herself (their intellect, ego, carnal mind) for the cause of Jesus Christ so that souls come to God in these last days. Someone who humbles him/herself before God and crucifies the flesh and can walk with you in the love, light and joy of the Lord. Whose words and life build up the church and not worldly things.
Whether we are lustfully desirous of someone else’s body, narcissistic and prideful about our own bodies, burning with the fire of jealousy over other people’s bodies, or idolizing the human form in any regard, it is LUST. Job said he made an agreement with his eyes not to stare at other women with lust. We also have to agree with Jesus not to acknowledge people (including ourselves) on the outward.
As we know, everything of this world screams for our attention on the outward man. “Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!” Our own words give us away. Where we find our eyes wandering exposes what’s in our hearts. What we watch, listen to, and read about gives us away. Are we putting attention on Christ or on the world? Paul said there was nothing good of himself. Even his legal credentials and lifelong accomplishments outside of Christ were crap, he confessed. He said everything in his flesh rebelled against what was righteous. But he thanked God that in spite of his flesh being 100% deceitful, he was able to serve God by giving his mind over completely to Jesus Christ.
Galatians 5:24 - "They who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." We have to realize that attraction to the human form is “acknowledging one another according to the outward man”. However, in order not to struggle with lusting after everyone you’re attracted to, find someone you’re attracted to, and get married.
And if you want a happy marriage, watch out for these RED FLAGS:
1. A person whose attention in word & deed is mostly drawn to outward man rather than to God. (lustful spirit)
2. Someone who boasts of themselves and loves the attention of the world. (prideful spirit)
3. A person who harbors great jealousy, is critical of others, and requires constant affirmation. (jealous spirit)
4. Somebody who refuses to admit weakness, and puts on a mask of holiness (self-righteous spirit).
5. The one who flatters and feeds your ego rather than walk with you in plain truth. (deceitful spirit)
6. An impatient, unforgiving, easily angered person who justifies their stubborn behavior. (wrathful spirit)
And if YOU are one of those “red flag” people, I advise you to repent quickly and ask God to turn you around so that you’ll make a good marriage partner.
It may take a while to meet the right someone who abandons this world’s carnal life for eternal truth and life in Christ Jesus. But man oh man, the overflowing joy and love you can experience if you will just trust the Lord to lead you to that equally yoked partner. God can do much better things than we can even ask for or dream.
Blessings of grace to you in Jesus Christ!
