The context of much of Matthew 5 deals with the assumed question, “How much can I get away with without actually breaking any rules?” Verses 21-26 dealt with hatred and murder. Verses 27-30 deal with lust and adultery. You could imagine a new convert to ancient Judaism asking his rabbi, “I have this neighbor, and his wife is smokin’ hot. Is there any law saying I can’t seduce her?” To this, a good rabbi would say, “Yes: You shall not commit adultery,” and leave it at that. A less-than-noble rabbi might say, “Technically, yes, that’s called adultery. But you know, the Bible doesn’t say anything about imagining what you would do if you could.”
Jesus has something to say about the issue. He closes yet another loophole, but in doing so, it seems that more problems are created. Adultery is bad, yes we know. And Jesus equates “lust” with “adultery” in the same way he equated “hatred” with “murder.” But what is “lust” exactly? Is it limited to full-blown pornography? It is as subtle as noticing that a girl is pretty? If not, at what point does noticing and appreciating natural beauty (an affection that God himself created) cross a line to something more sinister? Is the remedy for such a thing really to cut off a hand or pluck out an eye?
A friend once told me about one of his youth pastors growing up, who said quite emphatically that if a guy looks at a girl for 5 seconds, he is lusting. Somehow, a look for only 4 seconds is perfectly harmless, but there must be something deadly about that last second that takes one through the threshold of adultery.
I would like to state emphatically, that is stupid. It is quite possible for a guy to look at a girl for hours on end and never lust At the other extreme, it is possible for one to lust only with a split-second glance, or no glance at all.
Certainly the broader point being made is that if an action or a deed is prohibited, the thought of committing that very action or deed is equally wrong. Jesus is telling his listeners, “If you only imagine about sex with someone who isn’t your spouse, then you aren’t better than an actual adulterer.” This principle equally applies in other areas as well, not adultery exclusively, and you would think God would have already closed this loophole with the 10th Commandment, “You shall not covet.”
There are a few important things to note. First, Jesus is NOT condemning the natural attraction that exists between men and women. Looking at a woman—even noticing that a woman is pretty—is not the issue. In fact, it actually gets awkward when a guy is so insecure that he can’t look a woman in the eyes! Let me be perfectly blunt: while there are very many qualities about my wife that I find attractive—her sensitive nature, devotion to God, hard work ethic, musical ability, her kind and sweet spirit—I never would have asked her out on a date if I didn’t think she was unbelievably hot. Noticing beauty in another human being is not being condemned. Instead, what Jesus is addressing is a look for the purpose of lusting.
Second, it seems that lusting is condemned because it necessarily involves objectifying another human bring. By way of lusting, an individual is able to USE another individual for self-gratifying purposes. Jesus condemns the look that wants to possess the other person, to dominate the other person, to use the other person for personal gratification. Lust is the objectifying of another human being only to be discarded once the cheap thrill has been achieved. Additionally, as powerful as the imagination is, the more something becomes acceptable in our thought life, the more it becomes acceptable in our actual life as well.
So what is a person to do? Jesus offers two propositions. Do you have a hand that is causing you to sin? Cut it off! Do you have an eye that is causing you to sin? Pull it out! Of course, it is possible to take this literally, as the 3rd century scholar, Origen, did. His “member” was, in his estimation, causing him to sin, so he castrated himself. The only problem with closing the lust-adultery loophole by dismemberment is that a person is still perfectly able to lust without hands, without eyes, and yes, even without ... that.
Again, as with murder and hatred, Jesus is not closing a loophole by adding rules on top of rules. This would certainly prove to be ineffective. Instead, the practical point Jesus makes through hyperbole may be “flee.” That is what Paul told the Corinthians to do, quite plainly: Flee from sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6.18). Are there are certain environments where you know you will be tempted? Just don’t go there! Are you in an otherwise harmless environment and some kind of temptation arises out of nowhere? Run away!
There are times when it is advisable to flee, but I think Jesus’ practical point is deeper yet. What are those things that tempt us, regardless of environment? What are those things that draw our attention away from God? What draws us away from genuine (and pure) relationships with one another? What is at the root of all those things? That is what we are to hate. That is what we are to destroy. We are to deal decisively with those things, whatever it costs.
In Colossians 3:5, Paul tells us to “put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature,” and then starts the list by naming sexual immorality, impurity, and lust. Furthermore, if it is our own imagination that is in danger of taking us captive, Paul tells us that by divine power, we are to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10.5). Our thought life and imagination are to be filled with whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Phil. 4.8).
Oddly, the way to combat problems with our imagination is not, “What is lust and how do I avoid it?” Instead, the question to ask is, “What is good, noble, and honorable and how do I focus on that?”
Every baseball player at every level from time to time goes through a “slump.” Those guys who are normally good hitters suddenly go without a hit in twenty or more straight at-bats. Often times, a slump occurs because the hitter is, unknowingly, stepping out, away from the pitch (if you don’t know baseball, “stepping out” is a big no-no).
Any hitting coach at any level can notice a hitter stepping out, but what separates good coaches from great coaches is how they deal with it. Good coaches may tell their slumping hitters, “You’re stepping out. Don’t Step Out!” The hitter may end up saying to himself, “Don’t step out, don’t step out, don’t step out....” What inevitably happens is that the hitter steps out! He has done the very thing he didn’t want to do!
Great coaches simply approach the hitter differently: “You’re stepping out. Step In!” The hitter then ends up saying to himself, “Step in, step in, step in...” and then he drives a pitch into the gap for a double.
The difference in approaches is subtle but profound. By focusing on what he shouldn’t do, the first hitter actually ended up doing that very thing. That is because knowing what NOT to do is not the same as knowing WHAT to do. The second batter’s focus was on what he SHOULD do, and therefore he has a greater chance of success.
The remedy for lust is not “What is Lust and how do I avoid it?” but “What is good, noble, honorable, and how do I focus on it?” Sexual temptation notwithstanding, the Christian life is not meant to be lived simply avoiding the bad, but focusing on the good and achieving that, whatever it costs. Part of destroying the earthly nature within us involves embracing the good that God has provided, and being agents of good in the world around us.
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