Exodus 15:9 King James Version (KJV) The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.

Using the first use definition for lust I discover the Hebrew word nephesh. Rather than give the sixty-two uses and the varieties of definitions I would like to focus on one simple and well-hidden definition found within the Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon.

An odor which is exhaled. One cannot obtain a lust for anything without first tasting of it. The exhale is directly related to the breath of life given to all God’s creatures. What we consume will indicate our loss of innocence not only by the odor of our exhale but the very words we use.

Genesis 3:10-11 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” ¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

Lust occurs because of loss of innocence. Adam’s words, his exhale, betrayed his sin. If you should go to Blue Letter Bible organization and look up H5315 you will see a long list of definitions associated with lust. The simple explanation is loss of innocence. It often happens to the individual even before there is a proper understanding of what innocence means. Any good lawyer will point out to you that being found not guilty is not the same as being innocent. That is how they make their living.

What is innocence?

I think a clue is given to us by God in His question to Adam. “Who told you that you were naked?” As parents we laugh at the toddler that streaks through the back yard. That is innocence. Someone will take a different attitude about that same toddler heading for the front door in the buff. How we approach those innocent children and instruct them in socially acceptable behavior sets the tone for self-awareness.

Romans 8:8 English Standard Version (ESV) Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

I ended yesterday’s conversation with an encouragement to love the just King who sits on the throne. For the most part we want to please those we love. It is one of the ways we understand our love is being accepted, if the recipient is pleased.

We strive to do things that please God. A god that is pleased will not punish. Note the little g I used in god as this is a generic thought derived from a world view. Man tries to appease power and by doing so has this expectation of avoiding wrath and succoring favor. They will inevitably do what would please themselves if they were in power.

Paul puts it so simply here in Romans that it has to be more complicated than that to satisfy the sophisticated mind that complicates everything. Simplicity is for the simple and that feels like an insult.

Do not please the flesh and that pleases God.

Most of us have an idea of what it means to deny the lust of the flesh. That is probably a narrow definition for many of us. Let me give you an example. Do we consider needing to be right all the time lust of the flesh? There is nothing wrong with being right but the neediness dictates how we treat others. Corrections are often sharp and without consideration of the feelings of others. There is no exploration of the other persons understanding, emotions or experiences.  How we treat God’s children is part of pleasing God because He said, “Love one another.”

Most of the things we focus on with zeal are possible candidates for becoming lusts of the flesh. The amount of time exercising your passion for anything is a clear indication of lust of one type or another. Things that ought not to be ignored end up being ignored. This affects relationships and responsibilities to contract.