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| Volume 27 Number 10 October 2025 |
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| Volume 27 Number 10 October 2025 |
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The Power of Lust!
Rodney Nulph, Associate Editor
Several years ago, a Scranton, Pennsylvania man was looking for a crack pipe to fulfill his addiction. He went out of his house and in the driveway sat his girlfriend’s car, under which he crawled and cut a piece of brake line to make the pipe he wanted. His girlfriend, the mother of five children, drove off sometime later not knowing what had been done. Having no brakes and unable to stop, she crashed her car and died. What caused this terrible scenario to occur? There are numerous items that brought about this terrible tragedy, but the root cause of this, as well as most all sin, is lust. When we hear the word lust today, we often limit our thoughts to moral perversions such as fornication, adultery, pornography and other sexual sins. While lust certainly includes these, lust is not limited to these alone. In fact, a study of the power of lust may prove that we all struggle with this sin at times.
Clarification. What is lust? Lust has as its focus gratifying and pleasing oneself, which often leads to lethal actions to fulfill a person’s desires without consideration of the consequences. Lust springs forth from selfishness and greed. Someone has correctly said that lust is simply not being content with what God has provided for us. Ouch! That definition is not too kind. People lust for different things. For example, Esau lusted after food to the degree that he was willing to sell his most prized possession, his birthright. David lusted after the body of Bathsheba, without a thought as to where that road would ultimately lead. Judas lusted for money to the degree that he was willing to sell his Lord for a small amount of silver. Diotrephes lusted for power and control to the point where he was destroying the church. It appears that Ananias and Sapphira lusted for recognition and prestige to the degree that they were willing to lie and to deceive.
Cause. From where does lust come? What causes an intense desire, so intense that we would be willing to forget about the consequences to simply gratify our own fleshly desires? Lust is a heart problem! Jesus reminded that sin comes forth from the heart’s overflow (Matthew 15:19–21). What we meditate upon is really what we are, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV). In order to win over intense sinful desire and selfishness we must “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). God through Isaiah made this abundantly clear when he penned, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts” (Isaiah 55:7 emphasis added). Bringing thoughts into captivity (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) is what causes us to forget self and to see what is really important.
Consequences. The consequences of lust are many. Lust steals our joy. Ask David, Judas, Esau, Diotrephes and “his” congregation, Ananias and Sapphira and anyone else who ever gave into the sinful problem of lust. Go ahead and ask the wife whose husband abandoned her and his children for some lady he met at work. Ask the addict who just wanted to gratify the flesh for a short while, but now cannot seem to escape the habit. Lust steals our peace. A man who attempted to fulfill every lustful desire he ever had, later wrote, “As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor — this is the gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 5:19 emphasis added). Accepting one’s lot in life is what brings peace! Always desiring more leads to turmoil and strife. “A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones” (Proverbs 14:30). Lust steals our soul! James warned, “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:15). Lust, then, is the driving force that propels us to death’s door for eternity! The eternal consequence of lust is frightening and should sober our selfish minds.
The “Serenity Prayer” sums up our thoughts well. “Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Do not allow a lustful desire to ruin a precious life. Like Paul, may we ever learn that “…in whatever state I am, to be content” (Philippians 4:11b). Contentment counters the power of lust!
