Synopsis: The sin of lust is universal for humankind and is much more than sexual desire. Desires range from innocent longing to out-of-control obsession, and self-knowledge and self-discipline can help one keep healthy desires from degenerating into lust.
Desire is part of our design; it manifests our creation in the image of God, Who is characterized by multiple holy desires. Lust is desire out of bounds and is not part of our design, nor does the Divine desire that we indulge it. The Adversary has blurred the line between desire and lust, and the Christian who would fulfill his design and please God must learn to distinguish between the two, engaging the first and eschewing the second.
Lust is an ancient enemy of the soul. It constituted much of Eve’s motivation for plucking the proscribed fruit of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:6). Vulnerability to lust appears to have driven Job, in what may be the oldest book in the Bible, to make a pact with his eyes to avoid gazing at young women (Job 31:1). Desire out of control is implicit in three of the first ten commandments of the Law of Moses (Exod. 20:14-15, 17). In John’s inspired list of three categories of worldliness, two are forms of lust (1 John 2:16).
Early theologians included lust in their lists of deadly sins or capital vices. Fourth-century monk, Evagrius Ponticus, identified eight evil thought patterns that lead to sin, including porneia (Greek, fornication).1 John Cassian translated it into Latin, fornication(fornication, lust), maintaining his predecessor’s narrow view of lust limited to sexual desire. In the late sixth century, Pope Gregory I adjusted the list to generate the more familiar Seven Deadly Sins, by changing fornicatio to luxuria (lechery, lust); however, he moved lust to the head of his list.2 More than six hundred years later, Dante Alighieri gave us the contemporary form of the seven deadly sins in The Divine Comedy.3 Catholic theologians have even generated a list opposing the Seven Cardinal Sins with Seven Holy Virtues, pitting chastity against lust.4
Their work illustrates a common misconception regarding lust: that is, lust is limited to unrestrained sexual desire. This is neither Biblically nor etymologically correct. In the Septuagint translation, epithumeo is the word used in the commandment not to covet: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; you shall not covet your neighbor’s house or his field or his male slave or his female slave or his ox or his draft animal or any animal of his or whatever belongs to your neighbor” (Exod. 20:17, NET).5 Coveting a neighbor’s wife is easily seen as unrestrained sexual desire, but how can lusting after a neighbor’s house or fields be considered sexual?
“Lust is an emotion or feeling of intense desire in the body. The lust can take any form such as the lust for knowledge, the lust for sex, or the lust for power. It can take such mundane forms as the lust for food as distinct from the need for food. Lust is a powerful psychological force producing intense wanting for an object, or circumstance fulfilling the emotion.”6
In the New Testament, the word “lust” is translated from the Greek word epithumia, meaning “a longing, especially for what is forbidden, concupiscence, desire, lust after” (Strongs); or, from epithumeo, “to set the heart upon, long for, rightfully or otherwise, covet, desire, would fain, lust after” (Strongs). Neither word is limited to inordinate desire; it can also mean strong, healthy desire, or powerful, sound longing, depending on the context. In Matthew 5:28, Jesus said: “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Clearly in this context, epithumeo is a strong desire that is sinful. Yet, Jesus also said: “For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired (epithumeo, prb) to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them” (Matt. 13:17). Obviously the strong desire (epithumeo) of the prophets and righteous men was not evil. Sometimes strong desire is lust, sinful and degrading (Rom. 1:27, 13:13; 1Cor. 10:6; Gal. 5:16). And sometimes it is just strong desire, healthy and inspiring (Luke 22:15; Phil. 1:23; 1 Thess. 2:17).
Desire is part of our design in nature like that of our Designer (Gen. 1:26-27), Who has desires of His Own (Ps. 68:16; 1 Tim. 2:4). In its proper place and time, it is healthy and right (Eccl. 3:1, 11); in fact, it is critical for our continued existence. Without the desire for food, we would die of starvation. Without the desire for material goods and an interest in a respectable means of obtaining them, we would die of exposure and want. Without the desire for companionship and honorable intimacy, we would suffer from loneliness and would fail to procreate. Without the desire for knowledge and wisdom, we would regress to savagery. And most importantly, without the desire for betterment of the human predicament (all men sin, and all men die), we would be without God, salvation, and hope. Strong desire is a blessing from God when it is treated as a blessing and not misused. It can keep us alive, or it can bring us death. One can imagine that the Adversary is pleased by the failure of some to properly understand this.
Therefore, it is essential that we learn to distinguish between healthy strong desire and harmful lust. James teaches us that one does not go immediately from desire to sin; instead, it is a journey of more than one step (James 1:12-15). Desire comes to all of humankind, but all will not necessarily allow it to become sin. While we all begin with desire, some of us allow ourselves to be drawn or led by it; we dwell on it, allowing it to increase in magnitude, entertaining and enticing ourselves with focus on the object of desire, perhaps planning how to acquire and exploit it. After gestating a simple desire until it becomes inordinate and powerful, we yield our will to it, giving birth to sin. While the object of desire may be harmless in itself, and the initial desire for it may be innocent, obsessing on it changes it into lust, which is sin, and in turn leads to more sin, that is, actively and unscripturally satisfying the lust.
We can avoid the sin of lust by arming ourselves spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. Spiritually, we are readily instructed in the Scriptures regarding matters that are right or harmless and those things that are wrong or dangerous. Knowing the truth is of first importance, but it is not the only important element. Self-knowledge is vital to one trying to discern between healthy strong desire and sinful lust, and evaluating whether his desire has grown into lust for which he must repent.
Desire versus lust is about how I look; I can look with respect for current ownership or with a desire to obtain it by whatever means necessary. I cannot help but notice that my neighbor has a new truck, or that a sister cares well for her appearance, or that the bank teller is counting a stack of hundred dollar bills. I see those things, and desire for them thoughtlessly enters my mind, but then my will asserts itself and informs my emotions that these things belong to another and I have no moral right to them by any godly means.
Desire versus lust is about how long I look; I can redirect my attention to another matter more appropriate for my contemplation, or I can gaze intently until longing becomes lechery. “I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?” (Job 31:1). Job determined that he would make his eyes look elsewhere to shield his mind from the temptation to think lustfully about the young women who passed by. I cannot help but notice the new golf clubs in the store, but rather than obsessing over them, I will pass by to the lawn supplies and focus on the fertilizer for my garden.
Desire versus lust is about why I look; I can be content with my blessings, or I can be dissatisfied with the abundance bestowed on me. If Achan had been content, he and his family might have survived the conquest of Canaan (Josh. 7:21). Contentment is commonly cultivated for the peace of mind it confers, but it also has the subsidiary effect of protecting one from inordinate desire.
A final word of warning: lust is a sin that does not require that one speak or act. One can be guilty of the sin of lust sitting motionless and alone in a bare room. It is a sin of thought, and as such, dangerous and deadly to the unwary and weak in spirit. Exercise your will with the help of God and His word and gain control of your thoughts, emotions, and especially, your desires. “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation” (1 Pet. 1:13-15).
Endnotes
1 Evagrio Pontico,Gli Otto Spiriti Malvagi, trans., Felice Comello, Pratiche Editrice, Parma, 1990, p.11-12.
2 Godsall-Myers, Jean E. (2003). Speaking in the Medieval World. Brill. p. 27.
3 Vossler, Karl; Spingarn, Joel Elias (1929). Medieval Culture: The religious, philosophic, and ethico-political background of the “Divine Comedy.” Universwity of Michigan: Constable & Company. p. 246.
4 The Seven Cardinal Virtues, by James Stalker (1902). p. 10.
5 http://www.preceptaustin.org/matthew_527-28.htm.
6 Richard & Bernice N. Lazarus, Passion and Reason: Making Sense of Our Emotions, 1994, New York: Oxford University Press.
Paul R. Blake has served as an evangelist for the Tomlinson Run church of Christ since August 1999 and as an elder and evangelist since May 2003.