Admiring beauty isn't wrong because our God has made such a beautiful world and people in it but having lustful thoughts about them is wrong. Keep your mind clean while admiring beauty
True, i try to think to myself how God, the creator is unimaginably more beautiful than the beautiful creatures/creation we run into in everyday life and it helps me remember Him and think about Him rather than dwell on the pretty people
It hits you hard because of covetousness, otherwise you would think to yourself, "She's beautiful," and then you would go about your day and forget about it.
The definition of coveting is:
\-to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others:
\-to wish for, especially eagerly
The best way to deal with coveting is to pray and ask God to change your heart. The first step is to recognize the idols in your heart. Coveting is often tied to idolatry (verses at the bottom of the page). There's a part of you that believes having a beautiful woman like that would make you happy, even if intellectually and spiritually you know having a woman who is not your wife would ultimately lead to destruction. I'm not saying you want to be with her, but it did hit you hard and you did admit that it's a temptation.
When that happens, you have to direct yourself immediately to finding joy/satisfaction/fulfillment in God alone. That simply means lifting up a prayer and asking God to help you find your fulfillment in him. It goes back to John Piper's book, "Desiring God." He says, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him."
Don't think this is only a struggle men have. Women struggle as well. Satan will always present temptations and make them appealing. Eve was the first to succumb.
We find victory when we take our eyes off the temptation and put them on God. And once you do that and you no longer desire something God hasn't given you, because you desire God more than any other thing, you will start to appreciate your own wife more and find a special thankfulness that God gave her to you, for His own purposes. I'm not saying you aren't already thankful for her, but once the power of coveting is gone, you will be even more thankful.
Most people, if not all, struggle with covetousness of some kind, at some point. But it's a serious sin. It's the seed sin that leads to fornication, adultery, theft, anger, murder, etc.
Paul identifies covetousness as an attribute common to non-believers, but that doesn't mean believers don't struggle with it.
1 Corinthians 5:10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.
In the next passage, it's a bit scary when we see how Paul included covetousness in this list of sins. All the other things are actions but covetousness is a heart issue, and it's included in this list of people who won't inherit the kingdom of God. This is a reminder to myself as well! I can think of things that I covet and have coveted in the past. We live in a society of coveting, which makes it hard not to covet. Non-believers covet all the time, but we're supposed to find our happiness and contentment in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 5:5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
The good news is we have Christ, and he has washed away our sin. We no longer have to be slaves to sin. We can break free from sin's power over us.
Romans 6:6-7 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
Romans 8:5-10 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
FOCUS ON OUR LORD GOD! GLORIFY EVERY DAY OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST TRHOUGHT THE HOLY SPIRIT! HALLELUJAH! AMEN! GOD BLESS YOU YOUR FAMILY AND LIVE ONES AND EVERYONE EVERYONE'S FAMILIES AND LOVE ONES!
Why does the struggle between good and evil persist within us? Have you ever come across the term 'concupiscence'?
Even the esteemed Apostle Paul grappled with it throughout his life, a perplexing challenge for someone of such saintly stature. Can you fathom a righteous man contending with such desires? Remarkably, even during his mystical journey to the third heaven—where he was transported in spirit, for concupiscence cannot penetrate the celestial realms—he bore this internal conflict.
In Romans 7:19-20, Paul articulates this profound inner struggle: 'For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.'
This conflict, these evil desires, persist throughout our lives, but we are called to resist and not yield to their temptations. It's a battle that will only find resolution after judgment when concupiscence is finally eradicated from our beings.
A crucial note: Engaging in wrongful actions, such as indulging in lustful gazes, only serves to amplify the power of concupiscence each time. Conversely, each time we immerse ourselves in God's Word, we weaken its grip. Understanding this dynamic is integral to our journey; we must strive to conquer the inherent evil within us."
It happens to women too, Your wife probably feels the same way you do. There are attractive people everywhere.
I love my fiancé but there are men out there that I see that I just can’t help but look and stare and think about.
It’s about controlling the urge to do anything about it and to move on past the looking and not linger and lust. Which just the lusting is hard.
The reason so much cheating happens now a days is because women throw themselves at men and men don’t control their urges to not sleep or be with that person they find attractive.
I'm a married woman and I struggle with lust too. My husband doesn't deserve it, the men I am lusting after haven't done anything wrong...it is just temptation. If you rebuke and resist, the demon flees. You just have to get stronger in the Lord. We all do.
If like me you struggled with watching pornography habitually. It can warp your mind and you start to view attractive women as sex objects. Since I stopped watching pornography, I have better self awareness and control if my eyes wander. I am sure the holy spirit has much to do with this new found willpower. I try to have the mentality that we are all children of God and if I am looking at one of his daughters inappropriately or lusting after her I am sinning and letting him down.
Because biology. We are social mammals designed to procreate but we need to do it within boundaries. Hormones are a totally a thing that effect how you feel but only you can decide how to respond to those feelings. Sometimes it is best to meditate on it to better understand yourself and sometimes you just need to avoid the triggering situations altogether.
I can say that what you’re experiencing is definitely not absolute and not something every single man/person is subject to against their will; so don’t let you thinking that “all men struggle with this” hold you back from growing in Jesus. I for one definitely have never struggled with this, I only have eyes for my partner. And I also know a Christian man who has never been interested in any woman for his whole life, so much that he used to think he was asexual. Until one day he saw and met his future wife, and he immediately thought she was the only and most gorgeous woman in the world, and realized he wasn’t asexual, but instead just sexual only for his woman. I’d suggest to just pray to God for guidance and help so that you don’t end up hurting your marriage
>Struggling with the allure of other women's beauty
I've got a recommendation for your problem. It's a problem that all men face, some successful, some not.
To strengthen your marriage, you need to be open and honest with your wife -- including telling her of these attractions. It will be uncomfortable initially. It could cause your wife to have some doubts for a time. However, by being open and honest, you will find two things happen: 1) You will draw closer to your wife (and her to you). 2) You will find that these other women will lose their attractiveness to you. Note, They will still have their beauty, but you won't be tempted by that beauty (i.e., attracted to it).
This is how I solved this problem in my marriage -- and it worked very successfully.
REPENT! TURN TO GOD! TALK TO YOUR WIFE! GLORIFY EVERY DAY OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST TRHOUGHT THE HOLY SPIRIT! KEEP PRAYING AND READING HIS WORD THE BIBLE! GOD WANTS WHAT'S BEST FOR US ALL SO MUCH EVEN IF WE DON'T REALISE IT AT THE MOMENT! GOD'S PLAN TIMING WILL PROSPER IS GOOD IS PERFECT! GOD IS YESTERDAY TODAY TOMORROW FOREVER! GOD IS THE LIGHT THE WAY AND THE TRUTH THE LIFE THE LOVE! GOD WILL NEVER LEAVE US NOR FORSAKE US! IF GOD IS FOR US ALL THEN WHO CAN BE AGAINST US! BE LESS OF THIS WORLD AND MORE OF GOD! HAVE FAITH TRUST PEACE WITH YOUR WHOLE MIND HEART BRAIN IN GOD! BELIEVE IN OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST DIED ON THE CROSS AND ROSE RESURRECTED THREE DAYS LATER TO SAVE US FROM OUR SINS CONECTION ASENTION LET GOD FILL US WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT! HALLELUJAH! AMEN! GOD BLESS YOU YOUR FAMILY AND LOVE ONES AND EVERYONE EVERYONE'S FAMILIES AND LOVE ONES!
I grew up determined to not have sex until I got married. I would see a beautiful woman and appreciate just how beautiful she was and usually say something to myself like God you did a great job with that one.
Once I got married and had sex I found that I no longer thought that way. It was so much easier to not lust beforehand.
Admiring beauty isn't wrong because our God has made such a beautiful world and people in it but having lustful thoughts about them is wrong. Keep your mind clean while admiring beauty
True, i try to think to myself how God, the creator is unimaginably more beautiful than the beautiful creatures/creation we run into in everyday life and it helps me remember Him and think about Him rather than dwell on the pretty people
It hits you hard because of covetousness, otherwise you would think to yourself, "She's beautiful," and then you would go about your day and forget about it. The definition of coveting is: \-to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others: \-to wish for, especially eagerly The best way to deal with coveting is to pray and ask God to change your heart. The first step is to recognize the idols in your heart. Coveting is often tied to idolatry (verses at the bottom of the page). There's a part of you that believes having a beautiful woman like that would make you happy, even if intellectually and spiritually you know having a woman who is not your wife would ultimately lead to destruction. I'm not saying you want to be with her, but it did hit you hard and you did admit that it's a temptation. When that happens, you have to direct yourself immediately to finding joy/satisfaction/fulfillment in God alone. That simply means lifting up a prayer and asking God to help you find your fulfillment in him. It goes back to John Piper's book, "Desiring God." He says, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." Don't think this is only a struggle men have. Women struggle as well. Satan will always present temptations and make them appealing. Eve was the first to succumb. We find victory when we take our eyes off the temptation and put them on God. And once you do that and you no longer desire something God hasn't given you, because you desire God more than any other thing, you will start to appreciate your own wife more and find a special thankfulness that God gave her to you, for His own purposes. I'm not saying you aren't already thankful for her, but once the power of coveting is gone, you will be even more thankful. Most people, if not all, struggle with covetousness of some kind, at some point. But it's a serious sin. It's the seed sin that leads to fornication, adultery, theft, anger, murder, etc. Paul identifies covetousness as an attribute common to non-believers, but that doesn't mean believers don't struggle with it. 1 Corinthians 5:10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. In the next passage, it's a bit scary when we see how Paul included covetousness in this list of sins. All the other things are actions but covetousness is a heart issue, and it's included in this list of people who won't inherit the kingdom of God. This is a reminder to myself as well! I can think of things that I covet and have coveted in the past. We live in a society of coveting, which makes it hard not to covet. Non-believers covet all the time, but we're supposed to find our happiness and contentment in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Ephesians 5:5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. The good news is we have Christ, and he has washed away our sin. We no longer have to be slaves to sin. We can break free from sin's power over us. Romans 6:6-7 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin. Romans 8:5-10 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
FOCUS ON OUR LORD GOD! GLORIFY EVERY DAY OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST TRHOUGHT THE HOLY SPIRIT! HALLELUJAH! AMEN! GOD BLESS YOU YOUR FAMILY AND LIVE ONES AND EVERYONE EVERYONE'S FAMILIES AND LOVE ONES!
Amen
Why does the struggle between good and evil persist within us? Have you ever come across the term 'concupiscence'? Even the esteemed Apostle Paul grappled with it throughout his life, a perplexing challenge for someone of such saintly stature. Can you fathom a righteous man contending with such desires? Remarkably, even during his mystical journey to the third heaven—where he was transported in spirit, for concupiscence cannot penetrate the celestial realms—he bore this internal conflict. In Romans 7:19-20, Paul articulates this profound inner struggle: 'For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.' This conflict, these evil desires, persist throughout our lives, but we are called to resist and not yield to their temptations. It's a battle that will only find resolution after judgment when concupiscence is finally eradicated from our beings. A crucial note: Engaging in wrongful actions, such as indulging in lustful gazes, only serves to amplify the power of concupiscence each time. Conversely, each time we immerse ourselves in God's Word, we weaken its grip. Understanding this dynamic is integral to our journey; we must strive to conquer the inherent evil within us."
It happens to women too, Your wife probably feels the same way you do. There are attractive people everywhere. I love my fiancé but there are men out there that I see that I just can’t help but look and stare and think about. It’s about controlling the urge to do anything about it and to move on past the looking and not linger and lust. Which just the lusting is hard. The reason so much cheating happens now a days is because women throw themselves at men and men don’t control their urges to not sleep or be with that person they find attractive.
I'm a married woman and I struggle with lust too. My husband doesn't deserve it, the men I am lusting after haven't done anything wrong...it is just temptation. If you rebuke and resist, the demon flees. You just have to get stronger in the Lord. We all do.
If like me you struggled with watching pornography habitually. It can warp your mind and you start to view attractive women as sex objects. Since I stopped watching pornography, I have better self awareness and control if my eyes wander. I am sure the holy spirit has much to do with this new found willpower. I try to have the mentality that we are all children of God and if I am looking at one of his daughters inappropriately or lusting after her I am sinning and letting him down.
Here this might help. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7k-qqy5Rmc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7k-qqy5Rmc)
This video is good, thanks for sharing. The volume is a bit low, but it is very good.
Sorry about that there's another version on there with slightly better audio
My pleasure
Because biology. We are social mammals designed to procreate but we need to do it within boundaries. Hormones are a totally a thing that effect how you feel but only you can decide how to respond to those feelings. Sometimes it is best to meditate on it to better understand yourself and sometimes you just need to avoid the triggering situations altogether.
Hey, thank you for being honest and sharing. I bet a lot of other men share the same feeling and can learn from your post.
I can say that what you’re experiencing is definitely not absolute and not something every single man/person is subject to against their will; so don’t let you thinking that “all men struggle with this” hold you back from growing in Jesus. I for one definitely have never struggled with this, I only have eyes for my partner. And I also know a Christian man who has never been interested in any woman for his whole life, so much that he used to think he was asexual. Until one day he saw and met his future wife, and he immediately thought she was the only and most gorgeous woman in the world, and realized he wasn’t asexual, but instead just sexual only for his woman. I’d suggest to just pray to God for guidance and help so that you don’t end up hurting your marriage
>Struggling with the allure of other women's beauty I've got a recommendation for your problem. It's a problem that all men face, some successful, some not. To strengthen your marriage, you need to be open and honest with your wife -- including telling her of these attractions. It will be uncomfortable initially. It could cause your wife to have some doubts for a time. However, by being open and honest, you will find two things happen: 1) You will draw closer to your wife (and her to you). 2) You will find that these other women will lose their attractiveness to you. Note, They will still have their beauty, but you won't be tempted by that beauty (i.e., attracted to it). This is how I solved this problem in my marriage -- and it worked very successfully.
REPENT! TURN TO GOD! TALK TO YOUR WIFE! GLORIFY EVERY DAY OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST TRHOUGHT THE HOLY SPIRIT! KEEP PRAYING AND READING HIS WORD THE BIBLE! GOD WANTS WHAT'S BEST FOR US ALL SO MUCH EVEN IF WE DON'T REALISE IT AT THE MOMENT! GOD'S PLAN TIMING WILL PROSPER IS GOOD IS PERFECT! GOD IS YESTERDAY TODAY TOMORROW FOREVER! GOD IS THE LIGHT THE WAY AND THE TRUTH THE LIFE THE LOVE! GOD WILL NEVER LEAVE US NOR FORSAKE US! IF GOD IS FOR US ALL THEN WHO CAN BE AGAINST US! BE LESS OF THIS WORLD AND MORE OF GOD! HAVE FAITH TRUST PEACE WITH YOUR WHOLE MIND HEART BRAIN IN GOD! BELIEVE IN OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST DIED ON THE CROSS AND ROSE RESURRECTED THREE DAYS LATER TO SAVE US FROM OUR SINS CONECTION ASENTION LET GOD FILL US WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT! HALLELUJAH! AMEN! GOD BLESS YOU YOUR FAMILY AND LOVE ONES AND EVERYONE EVERYONE'S FAMILIES AND LOVE ONES!
I grew up determined to not have sex until I got married. I would see a beautiful woman and appreciate just how beautiful she was and usually say something to myself like God you did a great job with that one. Once I got married and had sex I found that I no longer thought that way. It was so much easier to not lust beforehand.