A man who chooses the Jesus script is…
A man who understands that lust commoditizes a woman.
Jewish men in Jesus’s day were familiar with the commandments of Moses, including the seventh one: “You shall not commit adultery.” But again, Jesus knew the hearts of men. He knew it was possible to follow the letter of the law but miss the heart of the law.
In his Gospel, Matthew captured these words from Jesus…
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
—Matthew 5:27–30
Jesus knew that our battles begin in our minds. Success is not simply following the letter of the law but preventing the war from escalating in our minds.
Lust is an appetite that, if not suppressed, will wreak havoc in a man’s life. Mental lust reduces a woman to a thing to be used and discarded—and it’s dishonoring to a person who is one of God’s precious possessions.
That’s why Jesus offers us a way out. It may seem like extreme language, but our Savior knows the destruction lust can bring into our lives and the lives of those around us. He uses imagery of our right eye causing us to stumble and suggests we gouge it out. He also suggests if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. His point is that we need to take whatever measures necessary in order to prevent lust from being conceived in our hearts and minds. We must do all that we can to honor women who have been made in God’s image.
What steps do you need to take to fight the battle in your mind? It may mean you don’t go to some places—in person or online. It may involve putting a filter on what you allow yourself to watch. It may involve having a trusted friend keep you accountable to following the Jesus script by not allowing lust to grow in your mind. Desperate times call for desperate measures. But that’s what men who walk in the life and light of Jesus do. His light shines in the darkness, and his Spirit will give us the strength we need to follow him.
