ummm... I have kind of avoided this thread up til now because I wasn't sure it would be prudent to post in, but I was heartened by the encouragement that has been offered to everyone who has posted. I have struggled with lust since I was a very young child (I was sexualized early by exposure to novels and movies that were far beyond my years) and have been a slave to both masturbation and porn, as well as illicit sex itself. It has really only been in the last few months that my mindset has changed on what is good and acceptable, and to truly understand the horrific damage that both can inflict on relationships and on your own self image.
I still struggle with the temptations to not only give into lust, but I am guilty of intentionally causing lust in others. I have been a stumbling block in the worst way and coming to understand what I was doing has humbled me in a very real way.
Sexuality is a wonderful gift, straight from God Himself, but just as the "Beloved" in the Song of Solomon says "Do not sir up or awaken love until it pleases".
For those who are struggling with lust and are looking to marry, I give you a word of encouragement:
Be honest about your problem, with your intended as well as with yourself. Not only will justifying it and denying it will only bring about a cauterization of conscience so that you begin to lose that conviction about it as a sin, it will DRIVE A WEDGE BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR MATE.
Yep, it's that bad.
God is always there to offer forgiveness and freedom, but it is of our choice to take it. He won't force it on us.
I'm praying for every one of you guys on here, and I ask that you pray for me as well.
I want to marry my beloved, and he deserves to have all of my desire, not just the portion of it that I havent sold off cheaply.
Neko-chan