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As I have said, in I John 2:14-16 the Bible mentions
three major sources of conflict in our lives: the lust of the flesh, the
lust of the eyes and the pride of life. What is the difference between
the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes? I suppose one of the best
ways to describe the lust of the eyes is to share some traps I have seen
young people happily go into without realizing the snare set before them.
I was watching a show after church Sunday called Dream House. In
this particular episode a young couple who were engaged, not even married
yet, are building a huge five-story home on top of a mountain in
Chattanooga, TN. They had borrowed $400,000 to build this home, but had
run into enough problems and setbacks that they had to borrow another
$50,000 even to finish the bare necessities of the home. By the time this
home is finished it will be a “money pit” big-time! I believe this couple
was suffering from “the lust of the eyes.” Their wants were far beyond
what God would have had for them. Already you could see the conflicts and
strain that this type of debt would put on any marriage, but to a young
couple just starting life together this is enormous! Any future changes
in their lives, such as having a baby, will not bring joy to them, but
more stress and probably more conflict. The major problem I see for them
is they will have nothing more to work for together that will bond them as
a couple; they will have it all now. Building a marriage is a process of
learning to work together to accomplish the goal God has for your lives
together. Many young couples and older adults, too, suffer from wanting
more than they need and wanting it now at any cost. We are told everyday
that we “deserve it”; we “need it now”. We must show to the world that we
are “successful” in order to be successful, so from childhood the world
teaches us to live above our needs. Every television commercial is
appealing to the “lust of the eyes” and this starts very early in our
lives. Children are the target of every toy developer, every cereal and
candy maker, and every clothing manufacturer in the world. Parents give
in to make sure their children are popular and accepted at school.
Parents get caught in traps to send our children to the best colleges and
either the parents or students go into great debt that they must pay on
for the rest of their lives, all in the name of success.
Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us to “lay aside every weight
and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience
the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher
of our faith.” God is the supplier of all our needs, but not necessarily
our out-of-control wants. Faith grows in our lives by watching God work
in our lives and providing for us. As we see Him answer a prayer for us,
our faith grows. He is the author of the faith because He gives it to us
through His Holy Spirit to begin with, but He is also the finisher of our
faith because of the work He does in our lives. If we go out and answer
our own prayers in the world’s way, we become great losers because we do
not see God’s loving work on our behalf.
Carolyn Crabtree |