| The Lust of the Eyes |
The Lust of the Eyes
For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world.
— 1 John 2:16
Why do we get tempted in our minds? Because it is command central.
It is here that we reason. It is here that we intellectualize. It is here that
we contemplate. It is here that we dream. It is here that we fantasize.
The Bible tells us, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war
according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal
but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:3–4).
That is how Eve was tempted—through the lust of the eyes: Eve, check
it out. Have you ever seen a piece of fruit like this? Satan attacked
Eve's mind. The lust of the eyes is mental temptation, temptation that
comes through the realm of the mind.
As the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, "But I fear, lest
somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds
may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:
3).
It is in our minds that we can commit horrible sins. We can reach into
the past through our memories. We can reach into the future through our
imagination. Often, the devil will get us to just think about it: You don't
have to do it. Just think about it. That is all. It doesn't have to go any
further than this. You can handle it.
But after a while, thinking about it isn't enough. After a while, fantasizing
about it isn't enough. We want to take it to the next level. So we start
flirting. We start touching. We start tasting. We start playing with it.
Then, the next thing we know, we are caught in it.
For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world.
— 1 John 2:16
Why do we get tempted in our minds? Because it is command central.
It is here that we reason. It is here that we intellectualize. It is here that
we contemplate. It is here that we dream. It is here that we fantasize.
The Bible tells us, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war
according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal
but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:3–4).
That is how Eve was tempted—through the lust of the eyes: Eve, check
it out. Have you ever seen a piece of fruit like this? Satan attacked
Eve's mind. The lust of the eyes is mental temptation, temptation that
comes through the realm of the mind.
As the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, "But I fear, lest
somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds
may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:
3).
It is in our minds that we can commit horrible sins. We can reach into
the past through our memories. We can reach into the future through our
imagination. Often, the devil will get us to just think about it: You don't
have to do it. Just think about it. That is all. It doesn't have to go any
further than this. You can handle it.
But after a while, thinking about it isn't enough. After a while, fantasizing
about it isn't enough. We want to take it to the next level. So we start
flirting. We start touching. We start tasting. We start playing with it.
Then, the next thing we know, we are caught in it.
| C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside , CA 92514 |