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"and the lust of the eyes"

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jingle52:
Kat, thank you for this tape-script, I do not have the opportunity to listen to the tapes, so this is much appreciated.  :)

and the lust of the eyes…

Then we have “the lust of the eyes,” which sometimes goes hand in hand with the lust of the flesh. But the lust of the eyes would involve maybe looking at the wrong things. Like, did you know that 99.44% of all men that get Playboy magazine buy it for the editorial material that’s inside, did you know that? See the lust of the eyes will make you become susceptible to the lust of the flesh. You say, ‘oh she looks pretty nice, I wonder if she is married, but I really don’t care.’ Then you go over to talk to her and it’s, ‘hey she came on to me.’

So the lust of the eyes, wanting to watch television 24 hours a day or whatever, the eyes. You know people that are blind, I think sometimes don’t have quite as many lustful problems as those of us who have eyes.

Can I just express how I see this from my humble point of view?

this is something terribly hard to follow fully as:
a) it is impossible to look at something – clothes, shoes, car, house, furniture etc. without committing one or two of these sins. If one “needs” a pair of shoes, it is “normal” that we have a look at colour, style and the beauty of the shoes and less at the practicality of our shoes we need to buy before we make the choice. Isn’t that lust of the eyes? (Some people go overboard and follow fashion paying a ridiculous amount for a pair of brand name shoes)… And so it is with all of the above examples I list….
When buying or choosing something to wear to the office or dinner out with friends, isn’t that the lust of the eyes and pride of life (wanting to look good and acceptable to yourself and to others)?
When one needs to buy a house, most people buy what they can afford and according to their needs, but there are those who buy according to their need to impress others even though they have to pay the mortgage  the rest of their lives (pride of life)… the list just goes on and on…

b)In today’s society, we are all guilty of these sins in one form or another in our everyday lives. We colour our hair, cut it in the latest style, wear makeup, jog to keep fit and slim, go to the gym to keep down the weight and we are just slaves to society’s rules of being acceptable (but as we reach middle-age, these things gradually seem to lose their importance) We also have to conform to office rules on dress codes, people look down on others if they do not have the latest gadgets or know how to navigate their pc’s. Modern society has in some form, killed off any spiritual progress we might feel we are drawn to and shake it off as something we can pay attention to later in life.


We here on BT are most fortunate because we hungered for the truths, searched for it and felt God’s drawing us to His Son, we listened to the call and found Ray’s teachings and are following it on a daily basis. I can see personally the changes this has wrought in me and thank our Lord God everyday for His mercies and His blessings for this quiet niche of learning and fellowship. I spend much time reading and learning here on the Forum and relate and fellowship silently as I still have a long way to go as I am yet carnel!
As John of Kentucky says, line upon line precept upon precept.
Hope I made some sense with my ramblings (please forgive me if they seem out of context with the subject matter touched on by Ray) ;D    ...God’s Blessings.

mharrell08:

--- Quote from: jingle52 on July 07, 2011, 04:01:41 AM ---this is something terribly hard to follow fully as:
a) it is impossible to look at something – clothes, shoes, car, house, furniture etc. without committing one or two of these sins. If one “needs” a pair of shoes, it is “normal” that we have a look at colour, style and the beauty of the shoes and less at the practicality of our shoes we need to buy before we make the choice. Isn’t that lust of the eyes? (Some people go overboard and follow fashion paying a ridiculous amount for a pair of brand name shoes)… And so it is with all of the above examples I list….
When buying or choosing something to wear to the office or dinner out with friends, isn’t that the lust of the eyes and pride of life (wanting to look good and acceptable to yourself and to others)?
When one needs to buy a house, most people buy what they can afford and according to their needs, but there are those who buy according to their need to impress others even though they have to pay the mortgage  the rest of their lives (pride of life)… the list just goes on and on…

b)In today’s society, we are all guilty of these sins in one form or another in our everyday lives. We colour our hair, cut it in the latest style, wear makeup, jog to keep fit and slim, go to the gym to keep down the weight and we are just slaves to society’s rules of being acceptable (but as we reach middle-age, these things gradually seem to lose their importance) We also have to conform to office rules on dress codes, people look down on others if they do not have the latest gadgets or know how to navigate their pc’s. Modern society has in some form, killed off any spiritual progress we might feel we are drawn to and shake it off as something we can pay attention to later in life.
--- End quote ---


Excerpt from 'The Father's Will' transcript (http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,3720.msg114261.html#msg114261):

1John 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

That’s pretty simple, pretty straight forward. It doesn’t say you can’t live in the world or participant with a lot of things that go on in the world and so on… don’t fall in love with it!

- Don’t make it your guiding light!
- Don’t put it before God!
- Don’t put it before doing spiritual things!
- Don’t put it before being obedient!

If you know you are going to do this, that or the other thing in the world, you are going to lose your obedience. If you are talented, you can use your talent, you don’t need to hide your talent, but don’t flaunt it and be egotistical either. Give God thanks for it, but not in a false humility.


The problem isn't wanting something you are looking at. It's wanting it over any and everything else in your life. That's when it becomes a 'lust'.



Hope this helps,

Marques

Kat:

Hi Jingle,

Yes "lust of the eyes" is a double edged sword. This world was formed to be as it is by our Creator and is filled with things beautiful to behold and He put within us an allure for this beauty. What a wonderful ability to behold the marvels of this creation with the eyes and to be gratified by the loveliness which brings much happiness and joy to us and is a very good thing.

Yet there is the always the flip side of the coin, what can be so wonderful in it's beauty can become something that we crave with so much desire that it becomes an obsession, lust/coveting, this is not good. That does not mean that the eyes are never to be gratified or that it is sinful to find pleasure in beholding objects of real beauty, God did gives us sight for the good it can bring.

As with all things we have to learn how to use this preicous gift properly. So much is gained through sight, I believe it may be the most enjoyed of all the senses. It gives us the means to comprehend the world around us in a way none of the other senses can, like what a butterfly looks like or what the many different colors look like. If you have ever stood at a high level of a mountain an looked over the vista, well it is just magnificent to behold. How do you describe something like that?

Yes with something so wonderful there is a price to pay in that it can be abused and we all have. Hopefully we are learning how to use our sight in a way that pleases God and not for selfish/lustful gratification.

mercy, peace and love
Kat

p.s. Imagine if one day we do actually see God, it would without a doubt far exceed anything else we have seen in beauty and glory. What must He be like? I think one day we will know.

onelovedread:
I hear what you guys are saying, but is it not God who works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure? And it also says: "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" If in fact we are called then is there not some type of "spiritual insurance" against getting caught up in a disproportionate love for the world? To what extent is it our choice and to what extent does God's working in us deter us from falling? Not sure if I am making sense, but if God operates all, then does He not keep us from falling into these traps?

mharrell08:

--- Quote from: onelovedread on July 07, 2011, 09:35:40 AM ---Not sure if I am making sense, but if God operates all, then does He not keep us from falling into these traps?
--- End quote ---


Many are called, Few are chosen...a few God keeps from falling into away, but most He does not. He simply does not stop most of mankind from pursuing their own lusts.

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