Just looking

TODAY'S READING: Exodus 20:14; Matthew 5:27-30
Jesus continues in the Sermon on the Mount to peel back the layers and expose the nature of God. This time he tackles the subject of adultery.
I have heard a number of people - students and adults - say to me, it's OK, I'm only looking. They may see an attractive member of the opposite sex walk by and take a little extra time to look. And while they won't always admit it, some of them look too long.
This is what Jesus is dealing with here. When God said "do not commit adultery" it wasn't just about physical purity. It was also about emotional and spiritual purity. Thinking about the act is sin, just like committing the act.
Once again we are confronted with "line-drawing" theology. I see so many young people who have been taught to "wait" until marriage. But what are they being taught to wait for? They are being given a line not to cross. And each of them will draw that line somewhere different. But is it really about a line? Or is it something much more significant?
Here is a scary piece of information. This generation of teenagers views 16 to 17 hours of television each week and sees on average 14,000 sexual scenes and references each year. That's more than 38 references every day.
Did you catch that? This is not just a small spiritual skirmish. This is full blown WAR! And we must engage this struggle with the seriousness that it demands.
God does not just want us to agree to stop before we cross that line, however we define it. God wants us to run the other direction from any line we may have created. Paul said, "Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." (2 Timothy 2:22) He also wrote, "Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires." (Colossians 3:5)
These verses echo the statement of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. And that statement simply clarifies and amplifies what God told Moses a few thousand years ago. God never changes. But for generations we have tried to find the lines and live near them.
Many of us enjoy flirting with our lines. There is excitement there. We can have the fun when play near the line without crossing it. It's harmless fun, right?
Wrong!
But that is exactly what Satan wants us to believe. Often we become comfortable with the area near the line, so we move the line a little bit. Then we get comfortable there and shift the line a bit more. And you can see where this pattern goes.
Which brings us back to the words Jesus spoke on the Mount. It's not just looking. It's an opening for sin. It is a chance for evil to stick its foot in the door.
I know Jesus takes it seriously. I don't believe he is advocating that we actually pluck out eyes and cut off hands, but I think He wants us to realize how important this really is. Any sentence we begin with, "It's just..." could be the beginning of a path into darkness. Let us become more and more aware of the little traps that Satan sets for us every day. And as we do so we can fight battles that are easier to win. It's not harmless. It's not just looking. It's one of the first battles in the war for your soul. Don't surrender and give the enemy territory to work with.

shine!
Jason