The Sin of Lust

JOB’S sufferings caused him to make a sweeping inventory of his inner life. One of the areas he evaluated was his attitude toward women and how he handled his own sexual drives.

Job openly acknowledged the power of sexual appetites. He catalogued the steps of lust from “looking upon a virgin” (Job 31:1), to allowing one’s heart to follow one’s eyes (Job 31:7), to finally allowing oneself to be enticed by a woman and then scheming to have her (Job 31:9).

Some may see this progression as normal, natural, or unavoidable. But Job viewed lust as a serious moral failure (Job 31:11). He spoke of it extensively in the same context as found in Job 31:1-34:

• falsehood and deceit;
• oppression of slaves;
• mistreatment of the poor;
• abuse or neglect of widows;
• taking food out of the mouth of starving orphans;
• rejoicing over the misfortunes of others, even if they are one’s enemies;
• trusting in wealth (rather than in God); and
• hypocrisy.

Lust is a serious sin!

Courtesy of Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.