letters to surfers

What is the difference between love and lust?

Robert Brow  (www.brow.on.ca)


Sexual feelings were given to us by God through the genes we received from our parents. Since Jesus was tempted in all points as we are, he would have had sexual feelings as we do (Hebrews 4:15). So there is no point in feeling guilty about sexual feelings (see Living Totally: Without Guilt). Lust begins when we decide to misuse our sexual feelings. Jesus explained that a heart decision to commit adultery was in God's sight already sinful even if the physical act did not take place (Matthew 5:28, James 1:15). On this site we define love as caring for the freedom of the other. That is the way God loves us. In marriage this is expressed in the mutuality described in 1 Corinthians 7:1-16. A decision to force or manipulate the other to engage in a sexual act is already a form of rape and a denial of love (see Adultery: An Exploration of Love and Marriage chapters 2 and 6.

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