Taming the Sex Drive

From my morning reading

Take a moment to read Matthew 5:27 -30.

Matthew 5:27 -30 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”

Now consider your own thought life. How does it match what Jesus said? It’s sobering to realize that even looking at a woman with lust is a violation of the seventh commandment of the Decalogue (Exodus 20:14).

What does all this mean, anyway? Christ taught that mental adultery occurs when we cultivate the desire to have sex with a woman other than our wife. In other words, it’s not only the act itself that is wrong but also the intent to sin.

What are you, as a Christian man, to do? You must look to Jesus to tame your sex drive. Yes, Jesus knows that you have strong impulses to be sexually intimate with the opposite gender. The issue is not the presence of the desire. Rather, it’s the deliberate and repeated fantasizing of immoral sexual encounters.

Don’t be ashamed that you might struggle in this area. And don't allow the realization of it to discourage you. Rather, depend completely on Christ to give you the power to say no to your impulses and yes to remaining virtuous. Remember, the Lord is always present to help you to behave in such a way that you will not bring pain to yourself or to others.

Let me offer this paraphrase of Matthew 5:28 "But I say to you that every man is to look at a woman respectfully as a sister in Christ. In so doing, he will never think about having sex with a woman who is not his wife, and consequently, never will."

Gracious Father, please help me to bring all of my life under Your sovereign control. Amen.

From God's Man
A Daily Devotional Guide to Christlike Character
Edited by: Don M. Aycock