The Biblical definition of Lust is:
sinful longing; the inward sin which leads to the falling away from God.
“Lust, the origin of sin, has its place in the heart, not of necessity, but because it is the centre of all moral forces and impulses and of spiritual activity.”
Lust is different from all the other capital sins.
It is the only capital sin not having an Immediate Capital Virtue whereas all the other capital sins can be overcome by having a virtue. Replacing the Vices with Virtues.
Lust comes by feeling or by falling ,But we need to clearly understand that feeling and falling are two different things.
The worst part is that Lust can come even in marriage.
Article 2351 of the catechism of the Catholic Church states that
2351 “Lust is disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure. Sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes.”
Consequences of Lust by St. Thomas aquinas
1.) You become blind.
2.) Thoughtlessness. Lust makes a person spiritually blind. A lustful person’s thoughts are disordered and not in place. Lust makes a person blind in the sense he/she lacks the capability to distinguish between right and wrong.
3.) Rashness. Emotionally disordered. An emotionally disordered person is rather numb to emotions or doesn’t emote to situations in life the right way. The person will act rashly without thinking about the consequences of sin. This leads to Hatred of God,
4.) Love of this world and despair of the future world.
Some examples of how certain key people in the bible reacted when they were confronted with Lust.
Genesis 39,
The story of Joseph. Joseph was confronted by Potiphar’s wife to lay with her, but Joseph was convicted by God already and had the gift of wisdom. He therefore ,did what was right in God’s eyes, that is, he ran away from the temptation.
The story of Samson, who fell often for this sin. Samson fell for Delilah who was very masterful in the art of seduction. She knew how to keep a man glued to her beauty. Samson was deceived by the lust for Delilah even though he was the special chosen one. This resulted in a tragic end for Samson. ( Judges 13-16)
The story of David, As David was extremely devoted to the Lord, he was called ‘A man after God’s own heart‘. But there came an all- time low in his life when he was confronted with Lust on the roof of his palace. He saw Bathsheba bathing and developed lustful feelings for her, and ended up becoming the father of her child. In addition to this, he also murdered Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba. ( 2 Samuel 11)
A person can be very good at doing God’s will, but neglect his own wellbeing.
Both Samson and David faced consequences for their sins.
Forgiveness is there , But consequences are long.
How powerful is lust?
3 P Test :
1.) Prosperity : Prosperity makes us forget God. Joseph was with the Lord when he was prosperous. Prosperity brings popularity and it makes us proud. It is a trap for forgetting GOD.
2.) Purity :Physical Attention from women as he was very handsome with a good physique.
3.) Persecution : Persecution is suffering for God.
Joseph went through 3 tests and Joseph passed all three of these tests.
Lust came at that time of life for Joseph when everything was going well.
How Lust enters into our Life :
1.) SURPRISED TEMPTATION : It surprises us. Lust surprises us in the sense that it comes suddenly without any warning. The feeling associated with Lust is surprising because it feels good at the moment, but after falling for it we get into a guilt trip.
2.) SUSTAINED TEMPTATION : It is a sustained temptation. Feelings of lust are sustained lifelong. We will encounter lustful feelings throughout life.
It’s a serial temptation. Lustful temptations are serial, they recur in a serial manner throughout life.
3.) SECRET TEMPTATION : High level of secrecy, it will never be caught. Temptations become powerful and it affects our mind. Sins related to lustful desires are done in secret, which minimizes or eliminates the chances of getting caught. It also gives rise to the thought ‘No one would know I am doing this’ encouraging further sinful actions.
4.) Sensible temptation : Joseph was rejected a lot in life and here this woman was offering him love, which in the moment makes sense that you are getting love for free. Also, fulfilling the master’s wife’s requests resulted in getting favours from the master . Its a sensible temptation.
How to gain power over lust?
1.) Conviction : Joseph had Conviction before the temptation came. You must be always prepared with what if this temptation ever comes again. Win the private battle to win the public battle.
2.) Love involves Loyalty : Joseph was loyal and faithful to his master.
3.) Avoid the sources of temptation : Joseph avoided her master’s wife every time.
Lust doesn’t have an opposite virtue.
The only thing we can do is Run away from the temptation.
an inspiration from the Life of St. Benedict
“On a certain day being alone, the tempter was at hand … [St. Benedict] was assaulted with such a terrible temptation of the flesh, as he never felt like in all his life. A certain woman there was which some time he had seen, the memory of which the wicked spirit put into his mind, and by the representation of her so mightily inflamed with concupiscence the soul of God’s servant, which so increased that, almost overcome with pleasure, he was of mind to have left the desert.
“But, suddenly assisted with God’s grace, he came to himself; and seeing many thick briers and thorn bushes to grow hard by, off he cast his apparel, and threw himself into the midst of them, and there wallowed so long that, when he rose up, all his flesh was pitifully torn. So, by the wounds of his body, he cured the wounds of his soul, in that he turned pleasure into pain, and by the outward burning of extreme pain, quenched that fire which, being nourished before with the fuel of carnal cogitations, inwardly burned in his soul: and by this means he overcame the sin, because he made a change of the fire. From which time forward, as he afterward reported to his disciples, he found all temptation of pleasure so subdued, that he never felt any such thing.”
St. Benedict is an example of temptation entangling even the holiest of people, yet also the example of one who directs his desire toward conversion. In our human nature, we will encounter struggle – whether we choose to be realistic about it or not, it will determine our ability to experience victory over those struggles. We all must be prepared, in whatever vocational journey God calls us, for that temptation which will surely come. Down whichever vocational path God calls us there will be this inner struggle.
Finally, we need to ask God to extinguish the vice, so as to come before God in all simplicity, recognizing our inability to combat it, and our need for his grace.
For more: https://www.thegregorian.org/2019/benedicts-thorn-bush-taking-sin-seriously
Praise the Lord
This talk is from Brother.Victor in one of our prayer meetings.
God Bless you all
have a great day
The Way, Truth and Life. 