Desire vs. Lust
Sin grows from extremes. Righteous indignation becomes wrath. Confidence becomes pride. Eating to live becomes living to eat, and sinful lust[1] grows from healthy desire. It’s a good thing for husbands and wives to desire each other (Genesis 2:24; 1 Corinthians 7:1-5, Ecclesiastes 9:9; Proverbs 5:18-21), but lust is a different matter.

Joseph
Do you remember the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife? (Genesis chapter 39.) She is Joseph’s bored mistress. Potiphar has been neglecting her, and Joseph, her slave, is a desirable young man. The first time she tempts Joseph, the young man explains why he won’t sleep with her. This only makes the game more interesting, so Joseph takes steps to stay away from her and temptation.

One day his plans fail, and Joseph finds himself alone with her and desire. Rather than give in, Joseph jumped out the window!

A “One-woman man”
Let’s turn now to the New Testament. Most of the English versions translate one of Paul’s qualities of an elder in Titus 1:6 something like “the husband of one wife” (ASV, KJV, NKJV, ESV, NIV, NASB, RSV), but this isn’t quite right.

The Greek text of Luke 2:36 describes Anna as a “one-man woman.” Later, in Timothy and Titus, a man who wishes to become an elder must be a “one-woman man. (See the footnote of the ISV and Eugene Peterson’s translation which asks, “Is he committed to his wife?”)

This supports Jesus’ observation, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mathew 5:27, 28).
But with the pervasiveness of sex all around us, coupled with our own God-given, natural desires, how is this possible? Intense sexual attraction is notorious for obliterating common sense and intuition in the most sensible people.

Overcoming Lust
How can we resist temptation? Follow Joseph out the window! Martin Luther observed, “You can’t keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair!”

Let me ask, “Who is the more skillful lover?” Don Juan, who goes from one conquest to another, or the man who satisfies the same lover for fifty years?

I’ve always admired Paul Newman’s answer. “Why have peanut butter out when you can have steak at home?” Remember, just because someone is advertising doesn’t give you the right to shop. Perhaps the most helpful advice I have heard came from science: “Nature abhors a vacuum” (See Matthew 12:43 ff.) The first monks tried to escape temptation by moving into caves in the desert. They believed they would be safe far away from temptation, but instead of finding deliverance, that’s all some of them thought about! If I tell you not to think about something, that’s all you’ll think about! If I say, “Don’t think about brown recluse spiders hiding under your house,” I suspect you will call the exterminator because that’s all you’ve been thinking about. On the other hand, if I say, “Think about how great a chocolate sundae will taste – hot fudge, vanilla bean ice cream, whipped cream, and a cherry,” then I doubt you will think about the spiders!

Finally, remember the power of the Holy Spirit. As a Christian, the Spirit lives in your heart! Focus on Him and not temptation.

Here are some questions to think about:
“What advice would you give someone who wants to be a Christian and still visit a California beach on a warm summer day?”

Knowledge

Re-Read Genesis 39 and answer the following questions.

1. Describe Joseph (inside and out).
2. The text says the Lord was with Joseph. How was Joseph with the Lord?
3. Why was Potiphar’s wife attracted to Joseph?
4. Why didn’t Joseph accept her offer?
5. Why didn’t Joseph talk to her in the last temptation?

Attitude

1. What can we learn about dealing with sexual temptation from Joseph?
2. What’s the difference between “the husband of one wife” and a “one-woman man”?

Action

List some practical suggestions about how to deal with lust.

Be a Blessing!

[1] The words translated “lust” in the New Testament, epi-thu-mo (ἐπιθυμέω) and epi-thu-mia (ἐπιθυμία) mean “intense desire, longing, or craving.” That can be a good thing (See Philippians 1:23; Luke 22:15; 1 Timothy 3:1). When thinking about the sin of lust, we usually connect it with sexual desire.

Sloth is a Sin? Most people are surprised to discover the ancients considered sloth a sin. We might think of laziness as a character flaw or a personality trait, but is sloth a sin? Yes. In fact, in most of the ancient lists, sloth comes first! Why?

What are the dangers of sloth?

M. Scott Peck, a social scientist who has written some of the most popular books in the field of psychotherapy says that laziness is a major cause of evil, a primary cause of psychological illness, and the main reason Americans are increasingly failing at human relations. Think about it. Love requires effort and growth. Laziness keeps us from growing, and I believe on the Judgment Day, the sins of omission will tower over the sins of commission (Ephesians 5:15, 16). Jesus told many parables about this subject. (Matthew chapter 25 alone has three lessons on sloth!)

Getting Rid of Sloth

So how can we overcome laziness? Plug into the power of the Holy Spirit! (Romans 8:11) Understand that sloth paralyzes us with indecision while one of the primary roles of the Spirit is leading. He gives direction to our lives.

I think it is also important to realize our fear of failure contributes to our sloth. “I might make a mistake,” or “I might fail,” and so we choose to do nothing. The Holy Spirit helps us realize, we are God’s children (Romans 8:15). Our Father wants us to succeed, and the Holy Spirit fills us with fire and passion (Luke 4:18, 19).

Here are some exercises to help you beat sloth:

Knowledge

Re-Read Matthew 25 and answer the following questions.

1. Why were the five virgins “foolish”?
2. What excuses might the foolish virgins have offered?
3. Why did the “one talent man” do nothing?
4. What was the sin of the people called “goats” in Jesus’ parable?
5. Why didn’t they “see”?

Attitude

1. Is it possible to do nothing and go to hell? Why?
2. The “Seven Deadly Sins” are called “gateway sins” because they open the door to many other sins. For example, anger can lead to murder, and greed can lead to theft. What are some of the sins sloth opens the door to?
3. Why are lazy people lousy lovers?
4. How does sloth rob us of joy?
5. How does passion counteract sloth? What are you passionate about? (Perhaps a better question would be “What should you be passionate about?”)

Action

Laziness leads to boredom and boredom leads to a world of sin. (“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”) What are some things (meaningful things) we can do to avoid boredom?

Be a Blessing!

Anger can destroy your marriage, your family, your job, and maybe even your life. It is without a doubt the number one destructive emotion – to others and yourself. 

Pinned to the Wall

King Saul stood head and shoulders above everyone in the kingdom. He was a success story until envy (the 2^nd deadly sin) led him into anger. Do you remember the story?

As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, 

                  “Saul has struck down his thousands, 
      and David his ten thousands.” 

And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” And Saul eyed David from that day on. 
The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice. 

The last verse is the one that impresses me: “But David evaded him twice.” There is a lot of advice about anger in the Bible: “Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools” (Eccl. 7:9) Fits of anger are “works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:20). An angry man is precluded from becoming an elder (Titus 1:7). Jesus taught anger prepared a person for the fires of hell! (Matthew 5:21-24)

It seems like anger is particularly a problem for men. Look at Paul’s instructions for men and women in 1 Timothy 2 and fathers are to be careful not to “embitter” their children (Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21).

“Everybody gets angry!”

Yes, there are degrees of anger – including “righteous indignation” (see John 2:10 ff.), but we are talking about an evil, uncontrolled anger: allowing your anger to cause mental, physical or emotional harm to yourself or others. Technically, when anger explodes, it is called “wrath.”

Causes of Anger

If you want to deal with your anger, you must admit to yourself: your anger problems are no one else’s fault. Did you know that most abusers describe themselves as “victims”? Rule number one is “You are responsible for your actions (and reactions).”

Why do you get so angry? Could it be you are spoiled? Are you a bully? Do you force you will on everyone else? Do you how this sin is tied to the first deadly sin, pride?

Of course, there are many other reasons for anger. Injustice makes me mad! Unresolved grief is another major cause of anger. Finally, stress – the disease of our age – is another cause of anger. Recently, due to orders to remain at home during the pandemic, there has been a rise in cases of abuse, and couples who love each other dearly are finding their relationships strained to the breaking point.

Overcoming Anger

James, the brother of Jesus, reminds us “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:19 – 21).

In other words, swap that quick fuse out for something patient. That happens when we seek the life of a disciple; when we learn to love. *

Be a Blessing!

(* Shameless plug for my new book, “The Stairway to Love” available on Amazon.com)

Savanarola, the great Florentine preacher of the fifteenth century, one day saw an elderly woman worshiping at the statue of Mary, which stood in his city’s great cathedral. On the following day, he noticed the same woman again on her knees before the [statue]. With great interest, Savanarola observed that day after day, she came and did homage before the statue.
   “Look how she reverences the [statue of Mary],” Savanarola whispered to one of his fellow priests.
  “Don’t be deceived by what you see,” the priest responded. “Many years ago, an artist was commissioned to create a statue for the cathedral. As he sought a young woman to pose as the model for his sculpture, he found one who seemed to be the perfect subject. She was young, serenely lovely and had a mystical quality in her face. The image of that young woman inspired his statue of Mary. The woman who now worships the statue is the same one who served as its model years ago. Shortly after the statue was put in place, she began to visit it and has continued to worship there religiously ever since.” —Tony Campolo, 7 Deadly Sins, p. 74

We teach our children to be proud, meaning we want them to strive for excellence, but there is a sinful pride that is at the root of many sins. Sinful pride is arrogant. It is the sin of exalting oneself and placing one’s interests above those of others. Pride craves admiration and even adoration, and will not share the limelight. Instead, Christians should:

“…give preference to one another in honor,” (Romans 12:10).
“…whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave,” (Matthew 20:26, 27).
“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips,” (Proverbs 27:2).

The Problem with Pride

1. Pride is a primary barrier to salvation. It makes it difficult for people to accept grace, 2 Kings 5:1-14.
2. Pride infects Christians in a variety of ways that can spoil their commitment to Christ.
   1. “Look at what I have done!”
   2. Matthew 6:1-18
3. Pride mars many ministries.
4. Pride keeps us from knowing the truth about ourselves.
   1. A prideful person will never be able to face those facets of their lives that are evil and need repentance, 1 John 1:9.
   2. Christianity delivers us from the dishonesty that stems from pride.
5. Pride ruins relationships.
   1. We would rather have people admire the selves we pretend to be than to love the selves we really are.
   2. Pride often acts as a barrier to reconciliation.
   3. Parental pride can lead to the destruction of their children.
6. Pride can destroy a nation. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall,” (Proverbs 16:18).

Deliverance from Pride

The children worked long and hard on their own little cardboard shack. It was to be a special spot—a clubhouse—when they could meet in solemn assembly or just laugh, play games, and fool around. As they thought long and hard about their rules, they came up with three rather perceptive ones:

• Nobody act big.
• Nobody act small.
• Everybody act medium.

Just “act medium.” Believable, honest, human, thoughtful, and down-to-earth.”  —Charles Swindol, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life,

The solution is to develop a healthy humility, but we often confuse humility with humiliation. Humility enhances our humanity and makes us more like Christ, whereas humiliation diminishes our humanity and tempts us to forget that we are made in the image of God. Healthy humility is the recognition that God has imparted to each of us, by his grace, a gift which makes us greater on the inside than most people will ever know.

So how can we be truly humble? By looking to God and cultivating an “attitude of gratitude.” That means it’s important to remember who we were “B.C.” – “before Christ” came into our lives (1 Timothy 1:15 – 17).

Evagrius Ponticus (345 – 399 A.D.)

They are called the “Seven Deadly Sins,” not because they are worse than all the rest, but because they are gateway sins. They open the door to a world of further evils. For example, anger can open the door to slander, and, even murder.

Evagrius Ponticus was a rising young star of the faith. Wikipedia says he was “One of the most influential theologians in the late fourth-century church, he was well known as a thinker, polished speaker, and gifted writer.” In 380 A.D., he traveled to Constantinople with Gregory of Nazianzus, who had just been installed as bishop. Evangrius was promoted to deacon and then archdeacon. When Gregory left the big city, Evagrius stayed behind, enjoying all that that cosmopolitan city had to offer. Unfortunately, Constantinople offered many worldly attractions, and Evagrius became infatuated with a married woman. Fortunately, in time, he came to his senses and fled to Jerusalem and chose to live a monastic life, but sadly, even in Jerusalem, temptations found him. Evagrius found himself taking particular pride in his dress “and spent much of his time sauntering through the streets of the cosmopolitan Holy City.”[1]

It was too much. Evagrius was forced to choose to be a disciple or not. He fled to the deserts of Egypt and began writing. He was primarily concerned with teaching young Christians in a manner they could understand. Rather than discussing all the many different varieties of temptations and sins that can beset a Christian, he tried to narrow the list by grouping them under eight headings. Later these were narrowed by Gregory to what we now call the “Seven Deadly Sins.” Here is a simple acronym to help you remember them: PEWSLAG.

• Pride
• Envy
• Wrath (anger)
• Sloth
• Lust
• Avarice (greed)
• Gluttony

We’ll spend some time exploring them in the days to come.

  [1] Downloaded from Wikipedia, April 27, 2020.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” – Jesus (Matthew 7:24 – 27).

I had the advantage of growing up in Sunday School. My earliest memories are holding my Papa’s hand and climbing the steps to Sunday School while my dad was away with the Army in Korea. I loved the flannel graphs and singing silly songs. One of my favorites was, “The wise man built his house upon the rock,” because it had such grand gestures. I remember making a fist out of each hand, and beating them together while singing the building verses, but the best part came when “the rains came down, and the floods came up!” It finished with, “and the foolish man’s house went splat!” I was determined to “build my life on the Lord Jesus Christ!” And I pray that’s just what I’ve done.

Foundations are essential. If you’ve ever watched a skyscraper go up, you know how long they take to dig down and prepare a proper one. We’ve been studying 1 Peter 5:10,

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Our final word of restoration is “establish” (themelioo θεμελιόω). It describes laying a foundation, the base for a structure. Jesus uses this word in Matthew 7:24 – 27. The Lord laid the foundation for the world (Hebrews 1:10). When Christ dwells in our “hearts through faith,” we are “rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:17; see also Colossians 1:23). 

Once more, tornado season is upon us in Kansas. St. John has been blessed and has never experienced a twister. Of course, some people quip, “Well, I guess we’re do.” I pray, not!

 I’ve been crawling around under the house this week. (It’s a long story involving a hose nib I hit with a riding lawn mower, a plumber, and chasing an ornery, little grey kitten.) As I looked at the foundation in the darkness, I wondered how our house could withstand a cyclone. (I pray I never have to find out!) Spiritually though, we don’t need to worry. God himself has laid our foundation. The storms, trials, and tribulations we face will not move us!

Be a Blessing!

Yesterday’s column about “Why Bother?” really touched a note with a lot of people. One dear sister (who is more honest than most) wrote, “I am exhausted and so tired of being tired.” Still, she pushes herself to get up and get going – especially for the sake of her teenage daughter. That brings up another discussion. “Should you force your children to go to church?”
 
Sadly, I know one father who turned his children away from church through his anger. He actually broke down the door of his teenager’s room and dragged her to church! Of course, the problem began many years before. His hypocrisy turned his children away long before that.
 
What are some of the reasons kids don’t want to go to church? All of the reasons we give, our children give too, but here are some more:

1. “Church is boring.” The great sin of our age is to be boring, and yes, compared to a rock concert, church may appear boring, but the answer isn’t adding pyrotechnics or a band. I think the problem is with us. If we don’t understand the dynamic, transcendent quality of an encounter with God (worship), how can we expect our children to?
2. “I don’t get anything out of it.” Our answer has been to divide the assembly into smaller and smaller groups that can “meet their needs on their level.” Terry Ellis wrote, “We need children and youth ministries with plenty of activities, but one hour a week teens need to stand next to senior adults and singles with married families. All God’s children need to sing “Worship the King” and hear a message from an ancient and timeless book. The young need our wisdom, and the elders need the energy and imagination of youth, just as much as the eye needs the ear and the head needs the feet. Worship is the best way to give expression to our unity in Christ.” 

Should we force our children to worship the Lord? What kind of a parent would I be if I never made my children brush their teeth or take a bath? Isn’t spiritual hygiene as important as physical hygiene? Think of what our children will miss if we don’t bring them to worship?

1. Community. Michael Kelly observes, “The church family can create a wonderful second family, sometimes closer than our blood family!  Over the years our church family has blessed us so much with prayer, meals, love, and more.  This can be a wonderful experience for our children.”
2. Morality. Our children are being forced to make moral decisions that only adults use to have to make. What framework will they use to make those decisions if they don’t know the Lord? Give them a place to stand and they can stand against the world!
3. Transcendence. We all need to find our place in the universe. To understand the world doesn’t revolve around us is a critical activity for any human being, but especially children.
4. The Lord. God commanded our presence in worship and it wasn’t to feed someone’s cosmic ego. We need God – and so do our children. 

Exercise
Did you attend church when you were a child? I worry, with all of the publicity about the horrible things that have been done to children in churches recently, that fewer and fewer parents will bring their children to the Lord. Are you concerned?
 
Some people believe, “Children aren’t capable of making religious decisions. They can go to church when they’re older if they want.” How would you answer those people?

Be a Blessing!

I am not a scientist. I am not a biologist or a mathematician, but I do believe ideas have consequences. If you believe it is going to rain, you will take an umbrella. If you believe you don’t have to work today, you can sleep in.

The same is true in the moral world. There is a whole field of apologetics devoted to presuppositions — if you believe this is true, then this is also true. For our devotional today, let’s look at four logical consequences of not believing in God.

Contingency — That means that everything that is was caused by some natural phenomenon that preceded it. If you leave God out of the picture, the apparent implication of this account is that the world and all of its inhabitants were accidents. There is no purpose in life period. 

Autonomy — Contingency leads to the belief in the second element of secularity — autonomy. People are free to determine their own destiny. People determine their own meaning. “That may be your truth.”

Relativity — If people are their own creators, then the social environment, destiny, and meaning of existence created by one group of people, in one place and time, are not necessarily relevant to another group of people in a different historical context. This is particularly true in the realm of morals. Morality becomes just personal preference statements.

Temporality — Reality is limited to what exists in time and space. There is no afterlife or it’s irrelevant. Death is the end of everything, and everything must die.

Exercise

Are you thoroughly depressed? You will be if you consider the consequences of believing there is no God! So let’s praise the Lord today and thank him for his many blessings! We have hope and purpose. I am grateful and an attitude of gratitude is the basis of my actions!

The last six months of my military service were some of the best times of my life. I left Berlin and worked as a mountain guide for Armed Forces Recreational Services in Berchtesgaden, Germany. Every day I taught mountaineering or kayaking in the Alps!

Most of the time it was fantastic, but sometimes the Army bean counters got in the way. Once they decided it would be more profitable if I led a dozen people up a very dangerous mountain instead of the usual four or five. It was a disaster as you can well imagine. We didn’t make the summit and we ended up having to spend the night out on the side of the mountain praying for daylight.

It was very cold. We huddled together for warmth. Earlier in the day, it looked like any other summer day, so the guests decided to lighten their rucksacks and leave behind the extra sweaters and food I told them to bring. 

When we were forced to bivouac on the side of the mountain, they paid a dear price. All we could do was wait, pray for dawn and pass the time talking. Eventually, the conversation got around to me. They knew I was getting out of the Army and I was getting ready to go home. 

“So, what will you do back in the States?” they asked. I told them I was going to study to become a preacher. One of the men, a very well-educated neurologist, snapped, “I don’t believe in God.” He then proceeded to launch into a very well-practiced lecture outlining the reasons he didn’t believe in God. He was delighted and had obviously given this speech many times before.

I tried to think of all the arguments I knew for proving the existence of God. I remembered some from my Sunday School classes: the Ontological Argument, the Teleological Argument, the Argument from Design – I could remember the names but I couldn’t remember the arguments themselves! I felt like I had to say something, but I was wrong. God spoke in his own defense and his voice was overwhelming.

In the midst of a sentence, in the midst of a word, it was almost as if this man’s tongue had swollen up and silenced him. In a man-made classroom surrounded by fluorescent lights and linoleum floors, his arguments might have made sense, but here, on the side of a mountain, secured by only the tiniest of ropes beneath a star-filled sky, my poor friend met his match. Perhaps for the very first time, he heard what he was saying and it made no sense at all on our airy perch. God’s voice thundered. The stars, the mountains, the valley far below, they all shouted back. Our God, He is alive!

Of course, the alternative to creation is chance. There was a bang and everything that followed happened by accident. What are the odds? Try this simple experiment. Pull out 10 pennies and mark each one, 1 through 10. Now put them back in your pocket. Reach in and pull out a single penny. What are the odds you will pull out penny number 1? 1 in 10 right? Now put them back in your pocket and pull out the one marked 2. The odds of first pulling out 1 and then pulling out 2 are 1 in 100. Doing the same thing, putting the penny back in your pocket, and pulling out number three next is 1 in 1,000. What are your chances of pulling them out in order (after returning the pennies to your pocket) number 1 through 10? Our mathematicians will answer 1¹⁰, or 1 chance in 10 BILLION. That’s with only 10 variables! How many variables are in an eye or a pituitary gland? 

So which is harder to believe? Creation or chance? I’m not a scientist and I’m not a mathematician, but I am impressed by this, the Argument from Order. It’s something to think about.

Exercise

Is it possible to prove the existence of God? Perhaps not in the absolute sense. If a person has closed their mind, it is impossible, but if you look at the hand of a baby or gaze into the night sky, you will probably agree with “Kepler – the founder of modern astronomy, discoverer of the ‘Three Planetary Laws of Motion,’ and originator of the term satellite—[who] said, ‘The undevout astronomer is mad.’” (R.K. Hughes, Hebrews: an anchor for the soul). Tonight, look deep into the night sky and marvel at the work of God. (Keep those pennies in your pocket. You never know when you’ll run into a skeptic.)