Lust The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust. (Proverbs 11:6 NKJV) No list of idols would be complete without lust. As we look around us today, no other form of idolatry seems to be more celebrated or flaunted than lust. And this idol doesn’t just claim victims who are on the “fringe” with God. As David’s life shows, lust is capable of capturing those who have experienced incredible intimacy with the Lord. David’s life is a spiritual benchmark in the Old Testament. The kings that followed in his footsteps were measured according to how closely they matched up to him. God’s Word pays David the rarest compliment by declaring that he is a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14 ). His faith in confronting Goliath is unparalleled; his passion for worship, unsurpassed. Yet despite all of this, there was an opening in David’s heart for lust to come in and assert itself above the Lord: Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. . . . Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her . . . . (2 Samuel 11:2, 4 NKJV) From this point forward, David began to drift further and further from the One who had faithfully shepherded him through life. He became so fixated upon his idol that the Spirit’s voice became more and more distant to him. Eventually, God had to speak to David through the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 12:1 ). What followed was a time of repentance and restoration, but the ripple effects of David’s idolatry continued to affect him and his family. In an age when the enticements toward lust are unrelenting, we need to be particularly vigilant in guarding ourselves against it. When lust becomes our focus, we will dangerously drift away from God like David did. If we seek Him first, we can ensure our safety against this insidious form of idolatry.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 17:42:06 +0000
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