His actions were deliberate and showed real effort as he achieved his ends. In order to use his power to take the actions he took, David had to plan. This is where the story of King David and Bathsheba becomes more helpful and illustrative. All of this focused energy on the person or the object of desire eventually takes root in the heart, a person’s center for physical, emotional, intellectual, and moral activities. The desire that is nourished by lustful thinking and planning becomes all-consuming. It begins to define a person’s thoughts and actions. Lust is not just something that occurs in the mind, a strong but fleeting erotic thought or impulse. It is most importantly the actions that follow, with all the decisions and consequences that are part of the action. It is not just the thought, as strong as the thought or desire might be. The person committing the sin of lust must have the power to engage in some manner with the focus of the lustful desire. It is an erotic story, but it also illustrates the raw misuse of power.įor a sexual thought to be understood as lust power is essential. David committed lust, not because he was sexually attracted to Bathsheba, but rather because he arranged to meet her, engaged in sexual intercourse with her, attempted to cover up their actions, and then ordered the murder of Uriah the Hittite, the husband of Bathsheba. The sin includes using power to engage the thought into action. In order for a normal, natural sexual attraction or erotic thought to become the sin of lust, something more is required. This is where the biblical story of King David and Bathsheba helps us understand what lust is and is not. The interpretation depends upon the complete context of the story. The teaching is unambiguous, but not in isolation. They base their interpretation and understanding about lust as a sin upon the words of Jesus: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27–28). Many, including scrupulous people I know, believe lust is basically the sin of having an impure or sexual thought about another person. The story is memorable because it features King David, an essential biblical personality, and it clearly depicts the sin of lust and its consequences. Not so in the case of lust, where the vivid story of King David and Bathsheba is found in 2 Samuel 11. When we reflect on a topic, it is not unusual to have difficulty finding a clear, descriptive illustration of the subject.
The reflection that follows is designed to exemplify good pastoral teaching and helpful guidance. The application of orthodox spiritual and moral teaching is never compromised. The readers of this newsletter can be assured that this resource always takes the moral teaching of the Church seriously. There is no excuse for bad or careless pastoral care. It is never helpful for a teacher to mislead those with scrupulosity or dramatize their normal human actions by stating they have committed serious sins when they have not. A scrupulous conscience produces more than enough anxiety and suffering. The decisions that people with scrupulosity make in choosing resources for spiritual guidance and pastoral care are very important.
It harms the spiritual life of the people who look for guidance and discernment if they are misled or distracted from what is essential and important by those in the helping ministry.
Preachers, teachers, and all those who are entrusted with the ministry of helping people form a healthy and integrated spiritual and moral life need to be responsible in their teaching.
0 kommentar(er)
