Good Reasons for Lust

...and Greed, Gluttony, or a whole host of other deadly sins. (Bonus Article)

You are beautiful. When was the last time someone told you that?

It may have been this morning when you woke up, or not for years. The truth is though that you, dear reader, are beautiful. I may not know you well enough to know how God made you beautiful, or which features and personality traits the people around you prize most highly, but I know that God never makes mistakes.

You are no exception.

God also made fruit. My goodness. Have you ever tasted Yuzu before?? Very few ingredients balance sweet, bitter, and savoury that well. As if that weren’t enough, we have kiwis, berries, and bananas. If you have the money, you can find even rarer delicacies. Money is so helpful, the more you have the more you can get. In fact, why not have everything, all the time? God made so much good stuff for us to enjoy, why restrict ourselves?

Crossing the Line

As Christians, we can so often get caught up in the ugliness of sin, that we forget what leads people there. How could people fall into Gluttony, don’t they know how awful that is? We might not put it like that, but it is how we act. Six months ago, the YouTube channel Kurzgesagt released a video called, “Smoking is Awesome.” For those of us who have never smoked—or at least never got hooked—we’ll never truly understand why they fell into that habit. This video goes some way towards addressing that:

“Smoking helps you focus at work and is an excuse to take regular breaks—which is good for you mentally. It's a tool against boredom, it suppresses your appetite, it makes bad moments feel less bad and good moments better.”

People don’t smoke because they’ve heard about the health risks, and can’t wait to hop on that train. People smoke because it feels awesome.

When we talk about the sins of the world, it is so easy to act as though people are running towards debauchery because they’re attracted to disgusting things. The enemy is far more cunning than that. He shows people something good, and makes them want it.

People are beautiful. Food is good for the body. Money gets us things.

None of those things are bad. However. Seeing can lead to wanting, wanting to desiring, desiring to coveting, and coveting leads us into a whole host of sins. Suddenly, that thing that was so good becomes our only goal. I used to work in a Fish and Chip shop. Two of my colleagues would receive their pay every week, only to spend the whole package on tobacco. They worked to smoke. Smoking was worth everything to them.

At some point in their lives, they crossed a line, and it is so hard to come back.

As Christians, we cannot fall into the trap of demonising God’s good gifts. Countless image bearers have been rebuked for their beauty, because of the mere potential of it leading to sin.

That is so wrong.

In the prayer book Every Moment Holy Vol. I, there is a short prayer entitled, “Upon Seeing a Beautiful Person.” It reads:

“Lord, I praise you for divine beauty
reflected in the form of this person.
Now train my heart so that my response to their beauty
would not be twisted downward into envy or desire,
but would instead be directed upward in worship of you,
their Creator- as was your intention for all such beauty
before the breaking of the world.”

Beauty is good. Earlier this year I had the opportunity to see some of Van Gogh’s work, and it told me things about him. It got to him through the gifts he left behind him. God has been creating since the beginning, and continues to do so today.

When people make idols of God’s gifts, they devalue them. When we turn away those gifts, we go further not only devaluing the gifts, but rebuking the Giver.

What’s more, when we inevitably see someone beautiful, eat something glorious, or receive a monetary gift. how will our hearts respond? Will we not feel joy? If we’ve been told our whole lives that such joy is evil, how will that affect our affections?

Don’t get me wrong, we should never put anything above God, but that doesn’t mean we should never want better, but that we should perform the act of wanting, better. In addition, we should train ourselves and those around us to recognise good wherever it springs up, whether that be in the face of a friend or the actions of a samaritan.

That way, when we are given good reasons to lust, to gorge ourselves, or to fall into greed, pride, or any other sin, we will be all the better equipped to say, “Yes, that is good, but it isn’t God.”

Grace and Peace,

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The Raven's Writing Desk

Recommended Media for the End of the Week

I’ll start with something light this week. If you have any affinity for Tolkien’s works-which is likely is you’re reading this—then you’ve probably come across JRR Jokien’s Jokien with Tolkien before. This week Landen Swain took the reins for a guest article all about one line from the first film in Jackson’s trilogy. This is the only time I’ll ever promote anything “troll” related on the internet, but for good reason.

Why Does "They Have a Cave Troll" Work?

Music is played on guitars, but poetry is played on our heartstrings. I could give few examples are poignant as Rachel Joy Welcher’s latest poem, writen to her daughter Hilde. These poems invite us to feel the fierce warmth of a mother’s love, and to grasp the dreams and hopes that are found in such love. This poem will do your soul good.

You Turn Three Next Week

I mentioned the Rabbit Room’s (Rabbit Room Poetry) Every Moment Holy Series in today’s article, a book containing liturgies and prayers for everything from making coffee to beekeeping. My wife and I use this regularly to aid us in our evening prayers, alongside other prayer books such as Grace from Heaven, and the Valley of Vision.
Whether you are a seasoned prayer veteran, or a new believer looking for guidance in this area, these books have something to teach you. Check them out: