INORDINATE PASSION
Dr. John K. Mathew
In modern cultures, lust typically is associated with indulging in illegitimate sexual fantasizing. In the scripture. however,the word "lust' is sometimes used in a wider range of meanings.
Lust can refer to an inordinate passion that rules one's heart. After Moses led the children of Israel in the desert for some time,they became tired of the manna that God was providing and began to crave the delicacies that they had enjoyed in Egypt.Their inordinate desire for meat caused them to become disgruntled and complain to Moses.
The Bible distinguishes between temptation,which appeals to one's desire and lust, which takes captive one's affection and imagination, enslaving a person.
As it is so clear in the scripture, lust is captivating in its influence. James writes, but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full grown, gives birth to death.
Samson, the strongest man of his generation, unfortunately was unable to control his lust. First,he fell for the women at Timnah, second he went in to a harlot at Ghasa and Delilah was the third woman who played around with him. When thousands of men had failed to overcome Samson, a wheedling woman succeeded. Desire was his only ruin.
The lure of sexual fantasy can begin like the wisp of a wind, but it will eventually tear through your life like a tornado, devastating everything and everyone in life". (Dr.Manickam)
Many Christians have wrongly concluded that sexual sins are the worst kind of sin. But that is not true. Sexual sins are not the worst kind of sins. C.S.Lewis has caught this fact very accurately. In a paragraph from his book. "Mere Christianity", Lewis says: "If anyone thinks that Christians regard unchastity as the supreme vice, he is quite wrong.The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual. The pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronizing and spoiling sport, and backbiting; The pleasure of power, of hatred. For there are two things inside me competing with the human self which I must try to become;they are the animal self, and the diabolical self; and the diabolical self is the worst of the two.That is why a cold, self-righteous prig, who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it's better to be neither".
