Gals and Guys and the Lust of the Eyes

March 14, 2015 by

A group of women window shopping in Toronto, Canada in 1937(This is an excerpt from the blog post: A Heart Gone Cold – Part 3.)

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes.” (1 John 2:16a)

What is the lust of the eyes?

In the words of one Bible teacher, it’s the “strong and sinful desire for gain.” It’s the thinking that says, “I just gotta have that.” And you can go ahead and fill the “that” in you just gotta have. “I just gotta have that item (like money or whatever).” “I just gotta have that.”

GALS AND THE LUST OF THE EYES

And ladies like to shop. I mean, it’s a spiritual gift. Isn’t it? Some ladies will say, “In my Bible it is!” I wasn’t smart enough to come up with a verse to confirm it. Nevertheless, ladies like to shop.

And it’s not necessarily a bad thing the desire to make a purchase. What makes it bad is when you cross the line and you have to have an item outside the will and parameters of God.

And a good question to ask is: “Does God want me to have it?” Of course, you ladies always ask that question. Right? “Does God want me to have it?” And He always answers, “Yes.” Right?

And I’ll pick on the guys in just a second. I thought I’d save the weaker sex for last.

But I’m talking about the lust of the eyes. It’s the “strong and sinful desire for gain.” It’s where the “keep up with the Jones'” mentality comes from.

And what is it about us that we succumb to wanting or needing more stuff? At least, we think we do.

And I suspect you’ve been to an estate sale. And everybody’s going through everything like a bunch of ants on candy. Right? And it’s all your stuff that you’ve tried to keep nice all those years! And you’ve spent all this money on it! And you’re looking down from heaven (hopefully!) at your son or daughter, and saying, “Don’t sell that for a quarter. How dare you sell that for a quarter!,” whatever the item is.

GAIN VERSUS GIVE

And let me just take a moment to talk about “gain” versus “give.”

And Warren Buffett is just such a good example. A while back the second richest man in the world had determined to give away 85% of his 30 billion dollar fortune to charity.

And could it be that God doesn’t give you much gain because you’ll keep it all to yourself? “Gain” versus “give.” A Christian is supposed to give, not gain.

And, if anything, God’s just trying to save you the anxiety when you’re watching your estate sale from above. If you give it all away, you don’t have anything to fret over.

GUYS AND THE LUST OF THE EYES

Okay, now it’s time for the guys. The lust of the eyes with guys.

And I won’t say much about it except that it’s all about what guys see. Isn’t it? It’s all about what guys see. And especially when it comes to the opposite sex. That’s why guys have such a problem with pornography (versus girls having the problem). It’s the lust of the eyes!

And Jesus said that – what did He say? “[E]veryone who looks (do you see that there?) – [E]veryone who looks (He’s talking about the eyes!) – [E]veryone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28)

Did you now Jesus was talking about the lust of the eyes when He said that?

And our Lord went even further. And do you remember this statement of Christ?…

“And if your right eye makes you stumble (and so it’s about the eyes again!) – And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:29)

He was talking about the lust of the eyes.

And, according to Jesus here (in Matthew 5:29), you just gotta get drastic with sin in particular, but also with the lust of the eyes if it’s a problem for you. No, you shouldn’t tear your eyes out to be delivered, but you need to be just as down and dirty in other ways. You need to throw out the (pornographic) magazines if that’s your problem. You need to stop watching the videos if that’s your problem. Maybe you even need to stop going to that certain store to shop if you’re a lady.

“Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity.” (Psalm 119:37a)

(A group of women window shopping in Toronto, Canada in 1937 picture file in the public domain: click here.)

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About Pastor Mike

Pastor Mike is making the most of web technologies to encourage disciples. A self-proclaimed “twitterholic,” one twitter follower describes him as the “jogging, blogging, tweeting Pastor.” Visits to Pastor Mike’s blog (A Heart For God) number in the hundreds of thousands. His video blogs have been viewed over a half a million times.