“Anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” - Matthew 5:28 NLT
Jesus doesn’t soften His words.
He doesn’t call it a struggle.
He doesn’t call it temptation management.
He calls it adultery of the heart.
Lust is not harmless.
It is not “just looking.”
It is not “every guy deals with it.”
It is sin, and sin is never neutral.
Lust destroys your soul.
It pulls your heart away from God.
It steals your strength, drains your confidence, and darkens your mind.
Lust warps how you see women.
You stop seeing image-bearers and start seeing objects.
You stop seeing daughters of God and start seeing fantasies.
You stop honoring women and start consuming them.
Lust weakens how you lead.
It makes you spiritually timid.
It makes you passive in prayer.
It makes you double-minded in temptation.
You cannot lead boldly while living secretly divided.
Lust kills intimacy with God.
You cannot enjoy His presence while hiding from His truth.
You cannot walk in purity while feeding impurity.
You cannot experience freedom while protecting the sin that enslaves you.
Lust poisons your marriage or your future marriage.
It rewires your expectations.
It cheapens real connection.
It makes you compare your wife to a fantasy.
It trains you to seek escape instead of intimacy.
It guarantees disappointment and distance.
Lust is a thief.
It takes and takes and takes, and gives nothing back.
Sin always takes more than it gives.
This is Jesus’ warning and His mercy.
He is not shaming you.
He is saving you.
He is calling you into a life where you can look women in the eyes without guilt.
Where you can pray with power.
Where you can lead with purity.
Where you can love your wife without comparison.
Where you can walk with a clean mind and a clean heart.
This is possible by the power of the Holy Spirit living within you.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” - 2 Timothy 1:7 NLT
You already have the power to walk in purity.
You just need to surrender the sin that’s killing you.
A Challenge for Men
One
Call lust what Jesus calls it.
Not a struggle.
Sin.
Two
Cut off access today.
Remove the apps.
Block the sites.
Change the habits.
Don’t negotiate with poison.
Three
Invite the Holy Spirit into your battle.
Ask for a clean heart, a renewed mind, and the strength to walk in purity.
Four
Tell one brother you trust.
You get strong when you drag darkness into the light.
Conquer what’s killing you.
Rise to what matters.
Live like a man who belongs to Jesus.