Many Christians have not only encountered lust, but have been destroyed by it. Lust is any illicit desire or passion. The Apostle James puts it this way:
“Everyone is tempted, being drawn away and enticed by his own lust. Lust, having conceived, gives birth to sin.”
(James 1:14-15)
In the world, lust means fornication. By defeating it in yourself, as well as lust in general, you can be saved not only spiritually. Promiscuity also harms the body. Only chastity will protect us from both spiritual and physical illnesses.
Why lust is a sin
A person who is overwhelmed by lustful desires tries in every possible way to satisfy them. As a result, he commits sinful acts. But obsessed with passionate vice, he does not see or notice them.
Lust is the source for committing sinful acts. Many criminals committed their criminal acts under the influence of lust. Each time they fell away from God, because lust is primarily a sin against the human body.
The fruit of lust is fornication. This sin is on the list of 7 deadly sins. These are the kind of sins that kill the soul .
Under the influence of these grave sins, the human soul is separated from God's grace. Due to falling into them, a person commits other sinful acts.
How does this sin appear?
According to Orthodox teaching, any sin is preceded by a bad intention. This intention gradually develops into a thought. If you do not stop this thought and do not show increased attention to it, then sin will subsequently be born.
The culmination is the actual commission of the act. Persistence in this sin leads to enslavement by passion, which completely protects a person from the Lord.
Reasons for lust
The main reason for the appearance of sin is the imperfection of human nature due to the Fall of Adam. All people are tormented by the attraction of the flesh, passionate lust. The second, no less important reason is the person’s social circle and upbringing. The social environment easily pushes a person to actions that are unnatural to the body and soul.
The sinful seed easily attacks the soul that does not know faith. Instead of prayer and thoughts about the Savior, prodigal, sinful thoughts come to her. They are also driven by the delicacy of the flesh and spirit. Unbridled feelings gradually develop into indulgence in voluptuous desires.
Venerable Sarah of Egypt
Blessed Sarah (5th century) labored in the Egyptian desert and was the abbess of a women's community. The righteous virgin was so immersed in prayer and spiritual work that she never looked at the Nile during the sixty years of her stay in the desert.
The temptations to which Saint Sarah was subjected were of a different nature. These included insults undeservedly inflicted on her, illnesses, and annoying worldly temptations. But most of all, for 13 years, the saint was tormented by prodigal thoughts.
The saint patiently endured these temptations, praying not that they would end and leave her alone, but that the Lord would strengthen her in this struggle. One day, while praying fervently on the roof of her cell, Sarah saw a demon in human form, who bowed to her and said:
“You defeated me, Sarah.”
“The Lord Jesus defeated you, and not I, a sinner,” answered the Monk Sarah.
One day, two famous hermits came to visit the ascetic to talk with her about the benefits of her soul. At parting, the elders said to Sarah:
- Look, don’t be proud of your mind, don’t say: “So the hermits come to me, a woman!”
Sarah answered them:
– Yes, I’m definitely a weak and poor woman; but I try, as much as I can, to keep my soul cheerful and courageous.
Another time she said to the brethren who came to her for edification:
“I am a man, not by nature, but by way of thinking, and you are women.”
Memorial Day of the Venerable Sarah of Egypt – July 13/July 26
Lust and the seventh commandment of the Lord
With this commandment the Lord prohibits adultery. This should be understood as adultery and a defamatory relationship.
God has prohibited spouses from breaking fidelity. This comes from the Bible (Matthew 19:5), which explains that the Lord created man and woman..., “ therefore a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh .” God tells unmarried people to keep their thoughts pure. The Apostle Paul added: “ Flee fornication - every sin that a person commits is outside the body, but a fornicator sins against his own body .”
According to Orthodox canons, a person should not allow:
- lustful spectacles;
- prodigal books, films, fine arts;
- bad words and expressions;
- shameless songs and dances;
- drunkenness.
Sins against the 7th commandment of God
Indulging in lust gives rise to gluttony, drunkenness, laziness, greed, vanity, and pride. Carnal pleasures distract you from helping your neighbor, from work, from prayer. The soul of such a sinful person no longer feels the vice, it gets used to it.
Fornication
These are sexual contacts between men and women who do not have a family. For these defamatory actions, the priest may impose penance in the form of inadmissibility to Communion for up to 7 years.
Adultery
These are sexual contacts between people who are married and cheat on their spouse. This sin destroys family, love and mutual understanding, and also brings a lot of grief to children. Adultery sends the wrath of God upon the person who committed the adultery.
According to the canons, for committing this sin a person is not allowed to receive Communion for fifteen years, subject to the necessary repentance and deliverance from the sinful deed.
Debauchery
By debauchery we mean a sinful act when a man (woman) commits unnatural intercourse with a woman (man). It is also an unnatural desire to incline a person of the opposite sex to lustful sin. This is secret debauchery . It can also be found in brothels.
If the desire for debauchery is not eradicated, then it gets worse. A girl who has tasted the lustful fruit will rarely be faithful to her husband. A man who frequently commits unrighteous acts will constantly experience calls of lust and will use stimulating objects to satisfy lust. For a libertine, nothing is sacred: it is important for him that his vile passion be satisfied right now.
Debauchery is disgusting and disgusting. Such a vice has a detrimental effect on the body and mind of the sinner. The sinner's memory is destroyed, the desire for any work is destroyed, and cowardice appears. The sinner's soul will burn in fiery Gehenna and suffer in cramped conditions.
Sodomy
For such a sin, the Lord sent down punishment to Sodom and Gomorrah. This is a mortal sin that calls to heaven for vengeance. The sinner is seduced by the male body, which is unnatural. According to Orthodox canons, a sinner is subject to a fifteen-year ban from Holy Communion, subject to repentance.
Lesbianism
It is a sin that calls for vengeance in heaven. The libertine is also excommunicated from Communion for 15 years.
Transsexualism
Often people obsessed with lust do not see the limits of depravity and fall into sin more and more. The Holy Fathers warned about the existence of demons that inhabit a person for debauchery. This is how man, the image of God, is destroyed. A sinner who rushes to his own sex becomes like a devilish image.
No excuses about the presence of other hormones in the human body or “wrong upbringing” are untenable. People who change their gender are doomed to death. Only lifelong repentance and acceptance of monasticism can invoke the Lord's forgiveness.
Misogyny
This is sexual contact that occurs in an unnatural way. This sin is all the more terrible if it is committed by a spouse. It is equal to the sin of Sodom. Repentance for him lasts for fifteen years.
Bestiality
This is the extreme degree of mastery of lust. Such an act is extremely vile to God. A person who commits such a sin is condemned to long-term penance.
Child molestation
Lustful passion awakens in the faces of the corrupted. Molested girls often become harlots. In addition, they experience extreme stress that affects their entire lives. For this sin, the Church excommunicates from Communion for twelve years.
Masturbation
A person who violates the instructions to “ flee fornication ” commits a sin against his own body. In this case, the passionate desire is satisfied with the help of hands. This sin is secret and at the same time accessible. Masturbation contributes to the sinful fall of youth. Both men and women commit masturbation. Vice is not always eliminated by marriage.
Masturbation makes a person a slave to vice. He loses energy and becomes irritable.
Swearing
A person who uses swear words insults mothers. He mocks birth, insults moral feelings. The sinner defiles himself.
Martyr Thomaida of Alexandria (Egypt)
Saint Thomaida was born into a Christian family in Alexandria (5th century). When the girl turned 15, she was married off. The girl’s husband was a local fisherman, who was also a Christian. Thomaida's father-in-law, who had already reached old age, was captivated by her beauty. The lustful passion overtook him so much that he, forgetting all fear and shame, began to incline his daughter-in-law to sin. Thomaida tried to reason with the distraught old man, reminding him of the punishment awaiting fornicators at the Last Judgment. All these exhortations were in vain. The father-in-law, enraged by the firmness of Thomaida’s faith, grabbed a sword and cut the holy martyr. For such a serious crime, the killer suffered instant punishment - he became blind. In the morning, after the body of the saint was discovered, the criminal was detained and sentenced to death.
Memorial Day of the Martyr Thomaida of Alexandria - April 13/April 26.
What are the types of heartfelt lust?
There are the following types of heartfelt lust:
- Prodigal thoughts. They can be involuntary, momentary. If a prodigal thought comes into a person’s head, but he immediately drives it away, asking the Lord for forgiveness, then it is not a sin. However, when a person dwells on this thought and enjoys it, then it becomes the reason for committing other sins. There are also thoughts when a person intentionally nourishes a thought within himself. This is a lusty fantasy. Orthodoxy defines such thoughts as prodigal. You need to fight them with fasting and prayer. Such a person definitely needs confession.
- A lustful look at the opposite sex. Righteous Job said about it that after the view comes thought, behind it is pleasure, after pleasure comes passionate desire, after desire comes sinful fall.
- Reading books that describe passionate love. These include romance novels and poetry.
- Decorate your home with seductive works of art. They corrupt the mind. This is especially true when a person decorates his bedroom with lustful images or sculptures.
- Wearing immodest clothing. Any attire should be worn with reverence. Dressiness is contrary to chastity. Wearing immodest clothing is a source of immoral behavior and passionate desires.
What is the significance of fasting in overcoming lust?
Observing fast days is the responsibility of every Christian. Thanks to fasting, immoderate desires are mortified and the body is pacified.
However, there are people who see only food restrictions in fasting. At the same time, they do not pay due attention to abstaining from sinful habits. It’s even worse if a person sees fasting as a diet.
It is important for a Christian to struggle with the flesh.
Only in this way can he subjugate her spirit in order to live a righteous life. Fasting is necessary to combat sin. This is not only a time of giving up certain types of food. This is also a period of difficult searches, struggle with unrighteous desires and affirmation in morality.
Fasting shows the weaknesses of the human soul, all sinful acts. After all, any excess in food leads to increased bodily desires. Fasting weakens and completely removes them. Anyone who abstains is energetic and healthy, because he is not possessed by passionate desire. Among the abstinent, there are no disproportionately fat or lustful people, because they do not consume meat products.
The true purpose of fasting is to weaken sin in the body and eradicate lustful desires. And it cannot be identified with simple “ food humility .”
How the Holy Fathers imagined the fight against lust
According to John Cassian, the fight against lust is the longest and for few it ends in victory. Lust begins to sprout from early adulthood and does not disappear until a person pacifies his desires. And just one post is not enough for this. The fight against this sin must be accompanied by repentance and persistent prayer. It is necessary to read the Holy Scriptures, think more about God and do physical labor. Without deep humility, it is impossible to defeat passion and get rid of lust that corrupts the soul.
Ephraim the Syrian reminded us that from the very beginning one must be strict with any passionate desire, until it takes over the mind. Anyone who is accustomed to giving in to unnatural desire will be tormented by his conscience. He said that a person must introduce the fear of God into himself. You should not allow your eyes to wander in different directions and you should not allow yourself to look at the beauty of others. Body thoughts act against God.
Abba Pimen spoke figuratively about the fight against shameless desires: when a chest of things stands and clothes lie in it for a long time, they will gradually burn to ashes . So it is with the unnatural thoughts that the evil one instills in us: if we do not realize them, they will quickly disappear.
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk reminded that fornication must be suppressed because this sin will greatly torment the conscience. You should protect your eyes from contemplating sin, eat moderately, and acquire humility.
John Climacus said that one who constantly fights lust with exercises is like a warrior who has tied the enemy with a weak rope. Whoever takes it by pacifying his desires is like a daredevil who surrounded the enemy with iron chains. And the one who is armed with humility and does not know anger, he killed his adversary and buried him. The theologian reminded that without humility there can be no abstinence, that is, without self-discipline, victory over lustful passion is impossible.
Lust is one of the deadly sins. In Christianity, lust means any attraction or passion that corrupts the soul and leads to sin. It is also a lack of self-discipline, a lack of moderation. Humility, self-discipline, appeal to God through prayer, sincere repentance deliver the soul from this vice.
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Roman Boyko
Venerable Vitaly of Alexandria
The Monk Vitaly labored in Alexandria under the Patriarch of Alexandria John the Merciful (609-620).
The saint, at the age of sixty, took upon himself an unusual feat - he began to fervently pray for all the harlots of Alexandria. Every day he earned twelve copper coins through hard work. With one, he bought himself one bean, which he ate at sunset, and gave the rest of the money to one of the city harlots. The saint came to her at night, locked himself in the room and, while she was sleeping, read psalms and prayers all night, and quietly left in the morning.
This was repeated every night, which allowed the Monk Vitaly to visit all the harlots in turn. He made them swear that they would not tell anyone about this. The inhabitants of Alexandria, not knowing all these details, were indignant at the monk’s behavior and mocked him. The labors of Saint Vitaly bore fruit: some fallen women began to earn an honest living for themselves, others got married, and still others went to a monastery.
Memorial Day of St. Vitaly of Alexandria - April 22/May 5.
