Lust / Contentment / Self-Control
1. Covetousness, or covetous desire, is wanting something that someone else has or that you are not permitted to have.
2. Lust, in scripture, is equated with a form of covetousness (Exodus 20:17) or simply excessive desire (Psalm 78:18,29-30, Numbers 11:4). (the New Testament Greek word means “to set the heart upon, long for, covet, desire).
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So, lust is excessive desire or covetous desire for anything
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Wants or desires are not inherently wrong, but they become excessive (lustful) when they lead to sin or falling from righteousness (desire without righteousness is called “evil desire” [Colossians 3:5]). So if desiring something causes you to fall from love, peace, joy, and self-control, the desire is sinful or evil.
3. It is always urgent to repent from lust because it causes the most destructive kind of sin (Romans 1:24, 1 Corinthians 6:18).
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The worst kind of sin is that which is against your own body.
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Fleshly lusts also “war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11).
4. A person who falls to lust of covetousness lacks in contentment and self-control. A person who is content and self-controlled will not covet or lust (Hebrews 13:5, 1 Thessalonians 4:4-5).
5. Qualities of Lust and Covetousness
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You love pleasure (2 Timothy 3:4, Proverbs 21:17) or have such a strong desire for pleasure that it feels like suffering not to have it (Colossians 3:5).
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You complain or whine when you are without certain comforts or pleasures, or you miss things that you did as an unbeliever (Numbers 11:1,4-6,10, Psalm 106:14).
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You look at or think about certain people or possessions with an excessive longing to have them (Matthew 5:28, Proverbs 6:25).
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This can mean sexual desire for someone you're not married to, or simply any strong desire.
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Masturbation and looking at pornography are both lustful (Matthew 5:29-30, 2 Thessalonians 2:12).
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Homosexuality comes from lust (Romans 1:27).
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As a married person, you feel tempted to sin when you go without sexual gratification from your spouse for a time (1 Corinthians 7:5).
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Getting married does not fix a lust problem! For many, it just hides or even enables a lust problem.
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6. Qualities of Contentment and Self-Control
Contentment:
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Through difficulties, stay focused on the gift it is to have a relationship with God, and stay thankful for everything you have (Hebrews 13:5, Philippians 4:11-12).
Defining Self-Control:
Renewing the mind is about transforming the mind to produce obedience in the body. And a crucial part of renewing the mind is attaining self-control. What is self-control? Self-control is the ability to exercise mastery or every inclination, impulse, and emotion of the flesh, bringing every one of them into absolute obedience to the service of God and His work. The state of being self-controlled is defined in Scripture as the salvation of the mind. One Greek word used in the New Testament for self-control or sobriety (1 Timothy 3:2) is "sophron". Sophron is made up of two root words. The first is sozo, meaning salvation; and the second is phren, meaning the mind. Connect the dots, and you end up with the conclusion that self-control is literally the salvation of the mind. A fully self-controlled person is a person who is fully saved from sin in their mind. They think without sin, and therefore they act without sin. A self-controlled person will not think with lust, impatience, laziness, doubt, complaining or griping, unrighteous frustration, rage, or annoyance. They are free from sin in their thinking. Therefore, a completely self-controlled person is a person who has completely renewed and saved their mind. The more self-control that you have, the more you will be able to regulate emotions, prevent sinful thoughts and actions, and resist temptation.