DAY 29

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. - Matthew 5:27-29.

Gov. Jesse Ventura apparently has a different version of the Bible than I do or maybe it is the interpreting that he does differently. In a second interview for Playboy magazine he was asked “have you ever lusted in your heart?” Ventura’s answer: “Hey you can look all you want.” “If a gorgeous woman walks by, as a man you always look. And wonder. Sure. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Most likely Gov. Ventura has never read the passage in Matthew chapter five. I was working in the oilfield a few years after becoming a Christian when I was confronted with this issue. A man working on my crew made it clear to me for the first time that sin can be committed not just by our actions or words but by our thoughts. The grasping of this concept and knowledge resulted in a struggle within me. It may be that lust is not a problem for you. However, lust is not the only sinful thought we can have. We can have greedy, envious, hateful, unforgiving (etc.) thoughts as well.

How can we possibly overcome our thought life? We cannot but our Lord can. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 we are told: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare (Eph. 6:10-18) are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”