What is a lustful look?
The Question:
What is a lustful look? I have a question about this... Does this mean that you cannot look at another person in a way that would show that you like them or something???? I see many Christians out there doing these things.
The Answer:
Matthew 5:27-28 "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."
The crux of the matter is this: what constitutes a lustful look or a lustful thought? My
commentary in the NIV study Bible says: "Not a passing glance, but a willful,
calculated stare that arouses sexual desire."
We are now brothers and sisters in the Lord, and should look at each other that way - as
in a family relationship:
1 Timothy 5:1-2 Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him
as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers,older women as mothers, and
younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
So when does admiration of a brother or sister cross over into lust? When you begin
thinking about them in a sexual way.
This is why Paul advised Timothy to have women dress modestly (which in today's world
should apply to men too):
1 Timothy 2:9-10 I also want women to dress modestly, with decency
and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but
with good
deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
This also applies to behaving modestly, so as not to invite undue attention, and to
talking wholesomely, so as not to provoke lust that way either.
Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your
mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it
may benefit those who listen.
We are to just say NO to ungodliness and lust with the power given to us by the grace of
God, and watch that our behavior benefits those we come into contact with - and does not
cause them to sin either.
Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that brings salvation has
appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly
passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while
we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus
Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself
a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
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