Realize looking is as wrong as acting.
| posted 1/30/2009
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Sexy images surround us—from cigarette billboards to magazine covers to TV to movies, to the Internet. And each of us must choose how we'll respond to such information. Will you allow those images to turn your mind in the direction of lust? (I wonder what that person would be like in bed …), or do you choose to turn away from such stimulation? Jesus made it clear in his teaching that looking and lusting after a person you're not married to is just as bad as actually having sex with that person. Why? Because you've already committed mental adultery, and your heart has turned toward that other person.
Instead of looking around at other people, stacking them up against your spouse (who isn't computer-enhanced to perfection), why not invest your mental energies on working on your own marriage? Think about your spouse's special qualities and write love notes. Make a special dinner; set aside time for a romantic evening. Read a good marriage book. Perhaps even see a counselor to work out any differences. Instead of love for a moment, work on your love for a lifetime! (See also Genesis 39; Hosea 2:2-8; 3:1-3; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20.)
Good Words to Remember:
Whoever looks … has already committed adultery. Matthew 5:28
Today's Challenge:
How can you turn your thoughts more toward your spouse, rather than the other possible people "out there"?
Copyright 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Bible Studies.
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