Job ends his discourse in Chapter 31 with that point. He stops talking. His so-called Elihu rambles on for a few chapters; and then God has His say (which is one of the great dialogues between God and man as recorded in Scripture). But Job brings up a very good subject for its time -- which is still relevant today -- lust.
Sex has always been an enticing trap that brought down many a good man. One of the reasons why is its such a wonderful and enjoyable thing. A gift from God that can be fully enjoyed between a husband and wife (here comes the Lust Control speech for the up-teenth time): The reason why God put guidelines and laws on the area of sex is to protect us from harm (like guardrails over a bridge). If we have sex with someone outside of marriage, odds are that we will break up or split away from that sex partner. When the sexual union happens, a great many bonds are formed (emotional, physical, and most would agree -- some sort of spiritual and/or soul bonding). When that breakup or divorce happens, all those bonds are torn asunder. This hurts. Sometimes the pain threshold for one partner is not as great as the other; but this pain, I believe, is what God wants to keep us from in this life. There's many other dangers involved in sexual sin (not to mention diseases), like murder, jealousy, the loss of ministry, finances (how'd you like to start paying alimony to someone you no longer lived with?), and broken families -- to name just a few.
One of the chief ways Job combatted this sin was to watch his eyes. He tells us that he "made a covenant with his eyes" not to look lustfully at a girl. This is a good thing. When we are faced with sexual temptation, there are many things we can do. Some Scriptural examples are: saying no (like Joseph did to Pottipher's wife); turning our eyes away (like Job's example); and actually physically running away (again we see Joseph high-tailing it outta there...too bad he left his tunic behind). Quoting Scripture might sound cliche, but it works, too. I remember breaking up with a girlfriend when things got tempting. I estimated that I was pretty close to falling in this area, and the band/ministry Lust Control was just getting off the ground and live concerts and preaching would soon take place. I took this drastic measure largely to avoid being the world's biggest hypocrite (see my previous blog about power/authority in the spiritual realm).
It's a shame that a beautiful gift like our eyesight can lead us into temptation and sin; but it's true that our eyes can be like a window into our soul -- not just for people to see in (which is vague); but in what we allow into us visually. Pornography has seemingly become a vice that many people flaunt and are proud of; but it is surely a cheapened exploitation of sex and our identities as people, and something to be dealt with in a disciplined way. While some may laugh at "accountability" and any such structures to help people from stumbling, that's likened to driving up to an AA meeting and shouting in with a bullhorn, "Ha ha, you idiots! Drinking is fun. Don't deny yourself the pleasure. Stop fooling yourselves and just give in." That's pretty insensitive and mean; but not supporting someone's efforts to escape the grip of sin is as petty as that, isn't it?
Sometimes the battle against sin is won in the simple step of deciding to treat it like a war -- acknowledging that there's a battle going on and declaring which side you're fighting for (there ain't no Switzerland in spiritual warfare!).
Psalm 1 gives us further insight into this whole realm. Drinking up and meditating on God's Word nourishes us and gives us strength. We don't really have to focus on the "Thou Shalt Nots." We can simply absorb God's Word and, essentially, focus on the positives and ignore the negatives. Doing the Do's, so to speak, takes care of all the Don'ts.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at April 18, 2005 12:31 PM