Adultery?

Good Morning,

Matthew 5:27-28 (NIV)
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
Psalm 119:9 (NIV)
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.

I know that these verses say "man" in Psalms and infer a male in Matthew, but I also know that what is said applies to everyone...male or female. So...

How many of us have committed adultery in the past couple of days? I don't mean to ask such a personal question about who someone may have had physical adulterous activities because I'm sure that most, if not all, of us have NOT had adulterous relations with anyone. However, how about in the way that Jesus described? You know, you were walking in the mall, perhaps, and saw someone and had "that" thought? You know what I mean. It happens to all of us. We have a desire and then lustful thoughts. Male or female, it doesn't matter, it happens to us, doesn't it?

Then, thinking a bit further along these same lines, I wondered about "lustful thoughts" as they might apply to television advertisements or something seen in a magazine, on a bill board, or, well, just about anywhere we might choose to look. Do these thoughts that we might encounter as our eyes peruse what's out there for us to see...that is PUT out there so we WILL see and then desire...do these thoughts count in what Jesus said? Uh, oh!!! Now I don't know about you, but I would venture to guess that if you're a human being then, yes, you probably have some lustful thoughts at times when you see such advertisements and enticements. I know I certainly do. So, again, do these lustful thoughts count as adultery?

The answer that God has given me is "Yes" in no uncertain terms! Of course they are the same. If we think differently, then we're fooling ourselves. So, if we're honest about our thoughts and feelings then we know that pretty much all of us have committed adultery in our hearts, as it is explained by the Lord.

So, how in the world do we keep ourselves from these sins? How do we keep our ways pure?

God gives us the answer in the Bible, of course, as He most often does. In the verse in Psalms it's pretty clear. We keep ourselves pure by living according to what God has had written for us to read and live by. We do this by "living according to your word."

There is much temptation and enticement in the world today. Probably more than at any time in the history of the world. With communication as easy as it is today with the "smart" phones, computers, television, print media, television, and all the rest, it seems that we simply can't escape from the images that cause us to have lustful thoughts. I would be willing to wager that this is exactly what the enemy wants and probably has helped put into place. He's sure done a heck of a job, hasn't he?

Our defense is doing all we can to simply live by the Word of God. If we do that, then there will be fewer and fewer of these kinds of thoughts that can drag us away from the Lord. If we're actively trying to live by what God has told us, then when we DO have such a thought it is almost immediately followed by the thought of asking forgiveness FOR that thought. God in His loving kindness and forgiving nature simply does exactly that and forgives us immediately. How do I know that without any doubt at all? Well, by experiencing this first hand and personally.

Yes, we will fail from time to time...maybe even often...in this area of our lives. But, when we learn to stop and ask God's forgiveness then it will happen less and less as time goes by.

Finally, let's don't beat ourselves up over this, OK? That's what the devil would want us to do. My answer to that is simply: DON'T! If we find ourselves in the "mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa" over and over and over and NOT seeking the forgiveness that God offers here, then we fall into the enemies trap and are not living according to God's word.

Fall? Certainly. Get up, dust ourselves off, know that God will forgive, and then move on. Saying, as Jesus did, "Get behind me Satan!"

Love, peace, and blessings,

David