Well guys, I guess I should just be up front with you all for this one. Yes, I struggle with lust. I mean come on now, I’m a man. Sometimes, however, it makes things so difficult, you know? So what happens when you’re a Christian and you’re struggling with this every day of your life?

First of all, you’re not alone. I’m right there with you guys, and sometimes it feels like an onslaught that just keeps on coming. No matter what we do, it’s always there and that fire seems to rise up right after it’s fallen, just like the tide.

Now I know sometimes we try to pass off the blame, right? "Women want attention, that’s the real issue right? I mean, if the girls would wear dresses just a little bit longer, then the flesh that it’s feeding wouldn’t burn like a sauna". Well, is that the reason why you’re bound up in chains when you’re at home alone in front of your computer screen? It’s not their fault! Nothing they do is the issue; it's all on us. Think about it. We’re taking that beautiful woman, that wonderful gift from God, and twisting and corrupting its image to something that it was never supposed to be. Then, just like her, sex is God’s creation: we spit on His face when we don’t use it in the way he intended.

I mean you’ve probably all heard it before, but I’m going to reiterate because it’s true. When we lust after women, at its core, we’re cheating on the woman that God has destined for each and every one of us. I mean, she is this gift from God, and we just abuse and use this mental perversion of sex just to glorify ourselves.

We all know that sex is a gift from God, but we take it and make it idolatry. We put it in His place and just worship it. And so we see it come out in just all kinds of profane ways, and we just take the easy way out. We blame the women for what they’re wearing, and we blame the media for what it’s producing, but we never, ever blame ourselves for the fact that we’ve twisted God’s gift to glorify us.

I know that this is a war. I know it gets hard. I know sometimes it feels like the desires are just going to destroy you, but trust in God. So often we just trust in ourselves and try to fight it, and you know what happens next? We fail, we fall, and we hurt ourselves and those around us. We need to lay it with God because we will be saved through his Gospel. Sometimes we need to pray to see that happen. I’m not going to lie, I’ve been in ruts before, and I still struggle with a lot of things, but here we need to see the Gospel clearly. We need to understand exactly what it is that we are dealing with, and the fact of the matter is this: One brings death (sin) and the other brings life (the Gospel), but Christ can set you free so you are no longer a slave to your desires.

Don’t ever think that sex is what makes you a man because, “Manning up is not just managing your sexual temptation; it’s not just managing your sin. That’s not what it means to be a man: because you can try harder, or you can do better, or you can hold on longer—that’s not manning up. Manning up is our ability to lay down all of our effort, and all of our trying, and all of our strength and say, ‘I trust in Jesus. I trust in His perfection; I trust in his power; I trust in His resurrection because He is the only one that can get me through this and He is the only one that can make me free.’” –Tedashii. We need the Gospel because that is what changes people. I’m not going to command you to just do better. If you love God, if you know His love, then let that change you. Let the Gospel come into your life and work in you. Let His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection to save you and change you; healing only comes by those stripes and bruises.