There are many stories of love in the Bible. The Bible itself is a story of love between God and humanity.
However, sadly, the Bible also has its fair share of stories around lust. Lust can take on many forms but today I want to address the more physical kind of lust.
Lust can be defined as ‘uncontrolled or illicit sexual desire or appetite’ (dictionary.com).
To illustrate the difference between love and lust, let’s look at the story of Shechem and Dinah, found in the book of Genesis, chapter 34…
Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”
(Genesis 34:1-4 ESV)
One thing that is worth noting in this portion of scripture is that Shechem did love Dinah. ‘His soul was drawn to her,’ the Bible says, and ‘he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.’
The sad fact is, however, that Shechem had already defiled Dinah. He had taken from her something that she was not willing to give and, in so doing, displayed that his lust for her was likely more powerful than his love.
. He had taken from her something that she was not willing to give and, in so doing, displayed that his lust for her was likely more powerful than his love.
Lust takes. Grabs. Snatches.
Love gives. Waits. Is patient.
An example of where love reigned over lust is in the story of Jacob and Rachel.
After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month, Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.”
Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.”
“Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.” So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.
(Genesis 29:14-20 NLT)
Jacob loved Rachel enough to wait for seven years before he was physically intimate with her. He displayed love that was more powerful than lust.
My encouragement to us today is to take a lesson from Jacob.
Let us exercise self-control, patience and love, when it comes to lust. Let’s master it rather than allow it to master us.
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