Hi all,

In a thread further down the page Robert-I talked at a high level about the meaning of the word "lust". That thread is here:

http://www.cblf.org/messages/58195.htm

In Christian circles, the term seems to be widely used to cover almost any sort of sexual feelings outside of marriage. A few years back an unmarried Christian friend of mine, who believed masturbation to be wrong, and tried valiantly to abstain, referred to "struggling with lust", even though all he was really dealing with was a build-up of sexual energy.

I know we are not supposed to lust after our neighbor's wife, or his donkey, or his grapefruit (?), but what does the word really mean? How is it meant to be applied, in practical terms, to the issues we deal with? Is simply finding someone to be attractive "lust"? Is admiring someone's beauty (clothed or otherwise) "lust"?

I would be very interested to hear everyone's thoughts on the issue (including Robert-I's).

Robert-I, do you have a link to the original discussion you referenced? [Not sure if you're allowed to post links to other boards. I'll leave that to you and/or the mods.]

Blessings,
Rainboy