Don’t tell me you haven’t looked. You know what I’m talking about—women wearing skin-tight yoga pants. It’s even big news.
Clothing maker Lululemon Athletica lost millions of dollars from investors earlier this year when reports came out that they had to recall their yoga pants for being too sheer. Imagine being in the store and seeing a woman having to prove the knit is too thin! Well, apparently the company fixed the sheer problem, but it leads me to think there’s more to this story than meets the eye.
Many times, temptation starts with the eyes and where you look. In James 1:14-16, God reveals how sin starts with a look and ends with destruction: “But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.”
An example of this is Potiphar’s wife. In the story about Joseph in Genesis 39:7, she would “cast her eyes upon Joseph.” Every day, her longing gaze at the handsome Joseph fueled her lustful desires, until one day she forced herself on Joseph, pulling him to bed. Fortunately, in this story, Joseph fled and avoided sin.
But the moral of the story is: Don’t be a lookie-lulu, or else you will find yourself compromising yourself, your beliefs and your marriage.
And there are consequences. God spoke through Jeremiah in saying, “They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife. Should I not punish them for this? declares the Lord” (Jer. 5:8-9).
Your gaze is important business to God. God’s man needs to fight for focus on Jesus and His plan for your life, not the yoga pants in front of you in line at the store.
The apostle Paul explained it this way in Philippians 3:14: “I press on toward the goal [focus] to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
In other words, focus on what matters. Focus on Christ. If your gaze is pure, your mind remains pure. And you will be rewarded. Jesus said in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
Here’s the bottom line: If you’re a lookie-lulu, then you’ve already committed adultery in your heart. In Matthew 5:28, Jesus says, “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
It’s interesting that Jesus made these comments after addressing anger and disconnection in relationships in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus addresses obsessive desire in men. Makes sense that they come in this order. Anger and contempt in relationships, or contemptible attitudes inside of the heart, in any relationship creates disconnection and unmet needs, which inevitably draws people into the realm of fantasy.
It’s better to skip the fantasy and focus on the prize awaiting you.
If you or a friend is struggling with being a lookie-lulu, sex or porn addiction, find godly men to hang out with, and stop looking at the yoga pants. There is a better way—God’s way.
Additional resources for men regarding sex and porn addiction are available here.
Kenny Luck, founder of Every Man Ministries and men’s pastor at Saddleback Church, provides biblically-oriented teaching and leadership for men and pastors seeking relevant, timely material that battle cultural, worldly concepts threatening men and God’s men. Follow Kenny and Every Man Ministries now on Facebook, Twitter (@everyMM) and YouTube.
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