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NASB | 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world--the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one's resources or in the stability of earthly things]--these do not come from the Father, but are from the world. |
Bible Question:
First of all, I very much appreciate the 'straightforwardness' of your post. I myselfe do not wish to walk in deciet, and so I don't wish to have answers that are just meant to make me feel better but do not help. Allow me to further my question. Concerning the 'wandering of the eyes', I have long felt that its a difficult situation: On the one hand, when I put to death the urges of the flesh, then I find no familiarity with the passion that was talked about in Song of Soloman (and therefore find no urge to dote on my wife that way that she likes to be doted on). In my heart, I wind up resisting the tendency to enjoy sex and sexuality the way that I feel God intended. This same 'sexual drive' that allows me to look longfully on my wife is the same element that is restrained, and although I find my struggle with 'wandering eyes' becomes easier to bear, yet my husbandly passion wanes. Then, on the other side, when I indulge in my husbandly pursuit, and revel in the graces that God gave me as a man, I find that my sensual senses are heightened, and my 'eyes' want to pick up on everything feminine. My wife loves the way I enjoy every aspect of her womanhood, yet I suffer in that I find it difficult to control it just towards her, since her body is not as in shape as I would like it to be. As you can see, I feel somewhat trapped between the two. This hasn't yet affected my loyalty towards her in the sense that I am not condoning seperation based on physical appearance. I can slowly see myself pushing her to gain control of her weight, in the hopes that my 'sexual eye' can be focused on her instead. Do you think that this is an unrealistic hope? Advice please. |
Bible Answer: Dear Orange, Many have given you biblical and sounded advice. However, may I add a little bit of my thought to your struggle. I wonder did God ever mention the ideal body weight and size in his creation of Adam and Eve. So, where did you get the standard of the ideal good shape? Are we so much affected by the worldly standard that we do not realize? Yes, God created things that are good and beautiful to the eyes. But that does not justify our being greedy like what Eve did. However, when it is a concern on the health problem, that would be another issue. We are responsible for keeping our body in good shape (I mean HEALTHY). If you are facing the problem of overweight that risk your health, yes, you need to deal (but the priority should be your spiritual well being) with it as well. (At this point, dear fellow members of the SBF, please bear with me this time concerning my below suggestion to this gentleman in tackling the overweight problem. I understand this is a study bible forum not a site of weight control) Orange, you should be well aware of the rules of a balanced diet together with exercise. However, if you fail to do exercise, you may try the food pyramid. Yes, everybody knows it. In fact, I am suggesting a meal pyramid. It is easy, just reallocate the portion of your every meal. Breakfast: The biggest portion of the day. Lots of vegetables and fruits, reasonable amount of rice or pasta or bread (carbohydrate), some meat (protein) Lunch: Half the amount of breakfast. Food can remain the same as breakfast. Dinner: One third of the breakfast would be ideal. If not, start with two fifth the amount of breakfast. You can eat vegetables and fruits and some meat (it would be ideal to skip meat if possible) as well. But NO carbohydrate food. Also note that the sequence of intake of food for every meal should be: Vegetables and fruits should be eaten first, then bread, pasta, grains next. Meat, egg, milk, etc should be the last. Remember to start your morning with a glass of WARM water. Please try that out. You do not have to starve your wife and yourself. :) My apology again to Lockman and other fellow members of SBF for the above content without any scriptural reference and is out of the context of bible study. :( Shalom Azure |