When God brought Eve to Adam in the Garden, it requires extraordinarily little, if any, imagination to think Adam liked what he saw.
Like his sons after him, father Adam was made by God to be attracted to Eve via his sense of sight. It is natural. It is innate.
Prior to the Fall, it was the norm for a man to be sexually attracted to a visually appealing woman without the toxic thorn of lust. After the Fall, however, this wonderful blessing was lost. Like the soil beneath our feet, purity of heart now requires a constant, strenuous battle against the thorns of lust.
A few years ago, fashion designers around the world introduced a clothing style they accurately deemed “The Slut Look”. With a host of characteristics like Eve’s original fig leaf, this degrading fashion line remains alive and well in our world.
With this noxious fashion and others of its ilk, how in the world can purity of heart be maintained? The answer is found in Matthew 5:27-32. Verse 28 contains the first principle—You must understand what is required (see yesterday’s blog).
The second principle is found in verses 29-30. Here, it is written, “ If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”
The second principle is you must deal quickly, decisively, and drastically with the poisonous toxin called lust. The temptation to lust is not sin. But—like a live grenade—the temptation to lust is so powerful and explosive, you must deal with it quickly, decisively, and drastically. Lust cannot be flirted or played pat-a-cake with.
Jesus’ instruction to pluck out your right eye and cut off your right hand are not intended to be understood in a literal sense. It is hyperbole—an intentional exaggeration used to make a sobering point. Joseph lost his coat (Genesis 39:12) but not his purity. He spent over two years in prison (Genesis 41:1) but not an eternity in hell.
You MUST deal quickly, decisively, and drastically with lust.
