Exodus 20:14 says, “You shall not commit adultery.”
Well that pretty much sums it up, right? But what exactly is adultery? You may hold to the common notion that adultery is when a man and woman are married, and one partner has sexual intercourse with somebody else. That is a true definition of adultery, but there’s more to it than just that.
Read what Jesus has to say about it in
Matthew 5:27-30: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Ouch!
Guys, have you ever looked at a woman lustfully? That could mean checking out a hot babe you see walking down the street, or enjoying a centerfold in a magazine, or even looking at seductive photos online. All of those count as adultery in the eyes of Jesus.
Ladies, have you ever looked at a man lustfully? That could mean enjoying the tight pants of football players, or paying extra attention to a TV commercials with a half-naked man, or dreaming what will happen when that guy with a cute Facebook picture finally asks you out. All of those count as adultery in the eyes of Jesus.
But you may be thinking, what if I’m not married? Yep, it’s still adultery. That person you’re checking out, is he/she your spouse? No? Well then it’s adultery, because you aren’t married to them.
The Hebrew word used
Exodus 20:14 literally does mean the act of sexual intercourse outside of marriage, but it also has a figurative meaning of committing idolatrous worship, or worshipping something (or someone) that is not God. That definitely fits the situations listed above - you’re worshipping somebody else’s body rather than God.
Where in your life have you committed adultery already? What steps can you take to prevent that from happening again?
1 comments:
Perhaps Jesus self hated.
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