Lust

We always think of lust as sexual term.  And many write off the issue as a compulsion they don't struggle with.  But actually, the word lust (and the action it implies) simply means "I must have it now."    What is it that you must have now?  A different job?  Food?   A TV show?  Exercise?  An orderly kitchen?  Retaliation?  A new car?

The King James Version of the bible (the oldest yet most accurate to the original Greek language) puts 1 John 2 :16 this way:  "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world."  In other words, the things you lust for - actions that bring you pleasure, items you want to possess, power you need to achieve - are not the actions of one who is trying to honor the Father but instead are the actions of one who is immersed in self-fulfillment.  It's not that these things are inherently bad, it's the lust of these things that is ungodly; the "I gotta have it now" feeling...

It's imperative that we, as believers, regularly assess what we lust for; what drives us.  Because if that drive is not consistently re-calibrated toward spiritual things, the drive to fulfill what "self" wants...what "self" lusts for...will dominate our goals and blot out the spiritual focus God requires of us.