Remember King David’s affair with Bathsheba? It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (2 Sam 11:2-4).
Looking with lust is adultery in the heart. Yet many people today have not realized that looking with lust has the capacity to stir the heart’s desire and lead to the act of adultery. It is for this reason that Jesus forbids not just the act of adultery but also the desire for it. ‘I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Mt 5:28). Indeed, the consequences of lust is more destructive: evil thoughts, fornication, covetousness, wickedness, adultery, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, infidelity, divorce, foolishness, even murder. Yet many people find lust not a serious matter but keep the lustful feelings in themselves and dismiss them as not really threatening. But sooner or later, we have to deal with them for these impure desires will cast a shadow over us, contaminating our relationships, and even becoming the darkened lenses through which we view the whole world.
So what should we do? Jesus proposes a radical remedy. “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body thrown into hell…” Your eye and your hand – if they’re the cause of sin, get rid of them. Jesus obviously does not mean that we should physically mutilate ourselves, but that we should fight hard without making any concession. He is saying that we need to be firm with sin in our life. Tough on sin, tough on the causes of sin. So if you use your eyes to glimpse the magazine covers in the newsagents, act as if you were blind and look away at something else. Avoid them completely! If your hand is clicking on those websites, then stop clicking there! Cut it right out of your life. Don’t play with temptation; don’t toy with sin – you’re more vulnerable and weak than you imagine.
Jesus is very clear about asking us to stay pure in life. We are made in God’s image, and we are made to love as purely as he does. Living a pure lifestyle means guarding our minds and hearts. To be assured of salvation one must not only keep from sinning but must also shun situations that may lead one to sin.
