AUG 29

Matthew 5:27-30
Memorise Matthew 5:28
“whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery..”

The Pharisees were proud, smug about their strict adherence to the law. Their lives were seemingly blameless and pure, having meticulously kept the law from young. However, Jesus saw past their facade and looked right into their heart. They may have appeared holy and white on the outside, but Jesus knew that like whited sepulchres, they are “within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27).

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained what the full implications of the 7th commandment were. He said that it is not just the physical act of adultery that would cause you to sin, but just by looking upon a woman (or man, for the ladies) to lust after her, to sexually desire one who is not your spouse, would cause you to sin in your heart. Such are the high moral standards that God has set for us. Just a single stray thought, a sinful desire, a lustful gaze of the eye is all it takes for you to fall into this sin. This is really a sin of the mind and the heart, which no one but yourself would know that you are sinning. Thus if we are sincere about pleasing God, this sin is one that we must carefully guard ourselves against.

Jesus knew how difficult it was for us to keep this, and that is why He gave such an extreme suggestion to help us to combat it. He said, “If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:29). Jesus was not calling for self-mutilation here, but this was to impress upon us what extreme lengths we should indeed go to ensure that our wandering eyes do not cause us to sin. If we know that we are prone to lustful gazes, then we must look for ways and means to prevent us from having opportunities to sin. The principle here is that we should have the courage and moral strength to sacrifice even the things that are most dear to us, if it would enable us to sin less. Thus for us, if we know that watching certain TV shows or movies, or reading certain books would cause us to lust, then we should stop. If we know that using the internet unsupervised and late at night would tempt us to look at things we shouldn’t, then we must ensure that we are not able to. It is a battle for purity that we must be extremely vigilant about, for the devil is always there, trying his best to tempt us and cause us to sin!

Thought: If (whatever activity) tempts me to lust, I should stop it!
Prayer: Lord, grant me the courage and strength to fight against lust!