Love is not a feeling
Many young people mistake fleshly lust for love. Lust is a feeling, but love is not. Love is the nature of God (1John 4:8). God is love and to love is to act like God would, or to obey God irrespective of how one feels (1John 5:1-3).
So, if your feelings are telling you to kiss, smooch and have sex with someone you are not yet married to, or to practice homosexuality; then know that you are not in love. You are just being controlled by your fleshly lusts. Resist lust and your feelings will change immediately.
Love empowers you to act like God would, while lust empowers you to disobey God and follow your “heart” (feelings) (Rom.13:8-10).
Love is not blind
Love is not that irresistible force that makes you do “foolish things;” like spending your school fees on your girlfriend, putting a tattoo on your body, taking naked pictures of yourself to send to your boyfriend, shamelessly opening your legs for your boyfriend to have sex with you or being beaten by your boyfriend and enduring it.
If this is your experience please wake up, you are not in love, but under a spell called lust.
Love is not instananteous
I'm sure many of us would have heard the phrase “love at first sight.” The truth is love is never instantaneous. Lust and infatuation can be, but love takes a while to develop. This is because true love is based on knowledge.
You cannot love what you do not know. Love is a decision you make after fully exploring the “good, bad and ugly” about an individual (Prov. 19:2).
Love is not sex
According to 1 Corinthians 13,love is what will make you not have sex before marriage. When you love someone, you will honour God’s word that says no sex before marriage - 1Thess.4:3-5.
Love makes one obey God. So, whatever is driving you to have sex before marriage is not love, but lust..
Some symptoms of Lust
- If you easily get sexually aroused at the sight of a guy or girl.
- You dress to reveal your body and even post your nude pictures on social media to attract attention.
- Addiction to pornography and masturbation.
- Cravings for homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, incest etc.
What is controlling you - God's love or fleshly lust?
Nobody sees Jesus and then the next thing he/she wants to do is fornicate. Your thoughts must have been polluted with lust from porn videos, music videos, movies, friends etc, before you can do such things.
Fleshly lusts result from worldly entertainment. You must protect your mind therefore, by putting away lustful movies and music and deliberately fellowship with God and His Word. This will empower you to walk in true love. Your thoughts shape your life – Proverbs 4:23.
The simple key to conquering lust therefore, is to yield one’s life completely to the Holy Spirit. Love is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22).
