X Marks The Spot!

[Galant]

I just wanted to share a little something that came to me a fortnight ago and which has proven a blessing and help the past week or so.

No shame here, its immediate and most obvious application is towards those who struggle with lust, however, I believe the principle can be applied beyond that to any area of assiduous struggle.

It has been said that the first step in overcoming a problem with a certain sin is to realise that it is sin and so to hate it. This is true. If there is no conviction of sin, then there is no motive or reason for change. What, though, if you have already identified sin and still struggle?

I've struggled with a number of things in my life, and one of the strongest most difficult has been lust, in its various forms. I've read a number of books, talked with people, prayed, and tried every mental trick I could find. Some have helped immensely, others I don't even remember.

Well, here's my revelation which I pass on to you.

Jesus, in Matthew 6:21, said, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Some time ago I came to associate that verse with one from Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

Your heart is a spring out of which comes your life. It is that which motivates you and drives you. It is your will, your emotions, your thoughts, your desires etc. Basically, where your heart goes there goes your life. However, your heart must be guarded. Why? Because such a powerful driving force can be influenced, it can be directed, steered. This where Jesus' words come in. For where your treasure is there will be your heart - or - that which you treasure provides direction for your heart. And so we have - What you treasure draws your heart and what draws your heart, draws your life.

I don't remember quite where I was or what I was doing but it occurred to me that whilst I had come to hate the sin of my thoughts and behaviour and was often disgusted with them, there was a flip side - I still enjoyed the pleasure and the thrill - I treasured them. The mystifying beauty and allure of the female body, a physical sensation, a thrill or an excitement those were things I treasured, things that I let retain a special place in my heart. The fear or hatred of sin might keep me away from them for a while, but sooner or later there would come a time where I would be drawn back to those things which amazed and attracted me. I hated the sinfulness of it but treasured the object or what it gave me.

Call it the appeal of things shiny, Gollum's 'Precioussssssss', or some pirates' hidden trove, it is amazing the strength 'treasure' has to keep us coming back and even to influence us to do all kinds of things to possess them. Your heart is a powerful force, yet it is easily swayed. T treasure something is not wrong, it is a system designed by God, however, we have to be very careful what we allow ourselves to come to cherish - and that is the verb. 'To cherish' is to make something a treasure. Sometimes it is an instantaneous thing, many other times we must work at cherishing something, but what we cherish, becomes our treasure and it inspires our heart to drive us to pursue it.

With regards to lust, there are elements, like the female body, that are designed to be attractive and to leads us to cherish - yet there is a time and a place for everything. Single gentlemen like myself must work hard - and let us not shy away from it - to ensure that we do not let our natural fascination and appreciation of the female body gain more presence in our thoughts and desires than is proper. A married man has the wonderful opportunity to treasure his wife's body and to enjoy it, however, it occurs to me that even there he must be careful. Though it is harder for the bachelor, both the single man and the husband must work to ensure that the treasure of the female body does not outstep its bounds. Even the husband can become too obsessed with his wife's body (ignoring the obvious sin of treasuring others' bodies) leading him to desire and therefore pursue sex beyond limits. Here opens the doorway to abuse.


The counter to this is, I think, the effort to cherish instead the whole female. To cherish all that she is and to treasure her as the complete female person that she is. If this is true, then I think we have a very useful truth in our battle against sin. We must learn not only to hate the sinfulness of a thing, but to check our 'treasures'. To identify all that we cherish and then to work hard at refusing to treasure those things which should not have our hearts, and with that, to redirect our affections to those things which we should be cherishing.

The very romantic sounding but actually awful song 'To All The Girls I've Loved Before' says, "The winds of change are always blowing, and every time I try to stay, the winds of change continue blowing, and they just carry me away." What carries you away Mr. Iglesias is not the wind, but your heart, and it carries you so freely because you place no guard upon it.

The wonderful truth is that we are not simple slaves to our heart. You can influence who you are and become. We have control over our hearts, are able to guard them, to steer them - and so we should. We have the ability to choose what we treasure and to dictate who we will be - whether by negligence and cowardice we choose to become addicts or perverts or by facing careful selection and courageous confrontation we choose to be overcomers and healthy, joyful human beings.

I have found it can be tricky at times, but when thoughts and sights come to mind, I have made an effort to remind myself that such things I shall not treasure, for some of it is wrong and some of it is out of place - all of it leading to a place I do not want to go. Additionally, I have focused my efforts on finding those things I should treasure and sought to appreciate those things. Slowly I have found the practise to be of use, especially in combination with prayer, and I'm happy to say it's been a wonderful two weeks since! So it is that I am happy to share this little thought with you, and I hope it is of use to you in some arena or other.

God bless.

[c_hunter]

Thanks for sharing that.
GOd bless too..