“3For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;” — 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 (ESV)
This morning as I read in 1 Thessalonians about lust, I was drawn to verse four and how it relates to the lust. Notice the phrasing of Paul, “you know how to control”. I do not want to get into the debate of context about the verses although that is important. What I am focused on this morning is the area of self-control as a means to avoid the trappings that come with lust.
I have already defined lust in an earlier post as having to do with deep longing for something. That deep longing is driven by our idle minds and our lack of attention to other things that are more useful and productive. It is hard to continually have a longing for something when one is engaged in another thing that takes up all that you are. When one is idle the mind is seeking something and that is where the lustful thoughts come to mind.
Let me give an example that I think we all can relate. Our mobile devices are great at keeping us connected and are useful in managing efficiency of our actions and schedules. How much time are you spending on your device. I find that my time on scrolling is increased when I have nothing else to fill it. The nature of my job is so that I am actively engaged all day with others in a training environment. I am constantly communicating with the participants and that lends to little or no time for extraneous things. As such my time on my device is drastically reduced as I have something else to fill my time (not to mention my battery lasted for three days without charge this week). When I am not training a class or actively involved in some other activity I find myself with my nose in my phone looking for stimulation.
What does this have to do with self-control and lust. Well, when I am active with some other activity, I do not give my mind the chance to look for stimulation. I am not longing for anything as I don’t have time for that nonsense. I am focused. I have every opportunity to focus daily and drive myself to doing things to fill my time. I should be working on positive movement and not sitting idle waiting to be stimulated. I am in control and should progress as though I am.
“2And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” – Genesis 2:2 (ESV)
During days one – six, God was busy at work. When He had completed His work, He rested and then got right back at it. I have to remember to put my head down and work. I will be able to rest in the evening when the day is done and then get up the next and get after it again. I have the control of my environment and the actions I am taking. As I go through the day I have to remember not to allow time for deep longing and lust. I have to keep with the work so as not to look for stimulation in all the things that are destructive. To avoid the trappings of lust I have to engage in self-control.
What actions or in-actions are you allowing to impact your deep longings for things of destruction? Are you idle too much and seeking stimulation from outside areas? What if you used your self-control to fill your time with actions moving forward, rested, and then got back after it to avoid the trappings of lust?
Trevor's Thoughts 