On April 17, 2011 there was a report by khou.com in Houston about three individuals who were in custody as a result of a police chase in west Houston. Police said that the three suspects were in a stolen vehicle and drove away as they began to pull the vehicle over. Upon losing control of their vehicle and hitting another vehicle the suspects fled on foot but did get caught. Some of us might question why somebody would do such a senseless act. One answer to such a story would be the power of lust. Whether it was the lust for the vehicle itself or the money they would get it for it, or even the lust for the simple thrill of just committing the act, it is still a lust.
Most of us would not commit such criminal behavior as the one in this story. Yet, there are other categories of lusts that may not fall under criminal behavior, but would still be a lust just the same. Most of us have a tendency to think of sexual, monetary or power lust when the subject of lust is in our discussions. Nevertheless, there are many other types of lusts that we may not even consider a lust at all and perfectly normal. Let us examine a verse of Scripture that teaches us about the subject of lust in the Epistle of James 4:1:
From whencecome wars and fightings among you? come they not hence,even of your lusts that war in your members? (KJV James 4:1)
The reference to “members” in this verse is to the cell structure of our body that has the contamination of our sinful nature. A lust is simply an illicit uncontrolled desire or passion for something. In addition to such lusts for sex, money and power, there are also such lusts as social lusts, a lust for approval, the lust to get revenge or a chemical lust. Happiness does not come to an individual regardless of whether he or she achieves a lust. A person who does not fulfill a lust simply creates frustration and intensifies the desires of that particular lust. When we fulfill a lust, on the other hand, it never brings that elusive happiness that we were expecting.
Happiness and contentment for the born-again believer in Jesus Christ only comes from a relationship with God and understanding all the grace provisions and grace policy that He has made available for each of us. The result of our maximization of God’s grace provisions will result in having spiritual self-esteem, a sense of destiny and an occupation with Jesus Christ.
One of the unfortunate functions of lust is an inferiority complex that causes an individual to live their life rationalizing, justifying and proving that they are superior to others. Such mentality is destructive to a person’s life because it keeps them off balance and living with a very active sin nature. It is ironic that people often consider such believers spiritually strong believers because they are extremely legalistic, self-righteous and moral. By living a life of self-justification that includes the world of flattery only feeds our lust for approval. Only our attainment of spiritual self-esteem will resolve such lust problems.
Therefore, let us examine our desires daily to make sure that they do not have roots from the influence of our sin nature or else we will be asking the question, “To lust or not to lust.”
Comments