the truth about LUST

When I was still hooked with internet, viewing pornographic images and videos, my officemates said it’s LUST. I didn’t mind what really lust. Ang alam ko, I enjoyed what I was doing that time. Sooner I realized what people around me especially my real friends said is true. I felt, I am worthless then. Iba talaga ang feeling na you are happy because you are doing good than you are happy because you get what you want. The former is the real HAPPINESS while the latter is just SATISFACTION.

What is LUST, by the way? I found the simple definition on Joshua Harris’ book entitled “not even a hint- guarding your heart against lust.” Lately, the title is changed to “ Sex is not the problem(lust is)”. To lust is to want what you don’t have and weren’t meant to have. Lust goes beyond attraction, appreciation of beauty, or even a healthy desire of sex- it makes these desires more important than God. Lust wants to go outside God’s guidelines to find satisfaction.

According to the author, it’s so critical to understand that our sexual drive isn’t the same as lust. For example:

*It’s not lust to be attracted to someone or notice that he or she is good looking.
*It’s not lust to have a strong desire to have sex.
*It’s not lust to anticipate and be excited about having sex within marriage.
*It’s not lust when a man or woman becomes turned on with out any conscious decision to do so. *It’s not lust to experience sexual temptation.

When it comes to the differences between men and women, the following statements are generally accurate and may be helpful to consider:

*A man’s sexual desire is often more physical, while a woman’s desire is more often rooted in emotional longings.
*A man is generally wired to be sexual initiator and is stimulated visually; a woman is generally *wired to be sexual responder and is stimulated by touch.
*A man is created to pursue and finds even the pursuit stimulating; a woman is made to be pursued and finds even pursued stimulating.

These are the important facts about lust in Joshua Harris book. It is really interesting and I am enlightened. I wanna thank my friend, Steve for letting me borrow the book. I am checking Joshua Harris website now and then to know what his latest work is. You can visit his website too at:

www.joshharris.com

(The book on the right side above is the one i saved from Joshua Harris' website. That's the latest cover. And the one on the left side bottom portion is the one I borrowed from Steve.)