In the Orthodox Church, there is a battle chest
available, providing us with practical ways to resist sin and to actually
defeat it. We don't just tell people to "try harder". We also tell
them HOW. We give them the weapons they need to wage war against sin, and to
arise victorious
Everyone knows lust is bad. Everybody tells us to
fight against it. But not everyone can tell us HOW to fight against lust successfully.
We try, we fail, we try, we fail, we try again, and we fail again… and at some
point, we realize that we need better advice than just "try harder".
Today, we will consider twelve practical ways for
Christians to do battle against the sin of Lust. These methods are time-tested
and trustworthy. And they actually work:
1)
Don't let your fantasies write a check that your loins can't cash. If you are unmarried, do not fantasize about sex.
Ever. Guard your thoughts. If you are married, but your spouse is currently
inaccessible, then don't spend ten seconds thinking about sex. Don't even think
about sex with your spouse. Guard your thoughts. If you are married, and your
spouse is currently accessible, then have normal marital relations with your
spouse regularly. This helps reduce the risk of illicit temptations.
2)
Fight the birds. There
is a saying: "You can't stop the birds from flying over your head, but you
can stop them from building a nest in your hair." No thanks to the
logismoi, the devil can do this to you without your consent. Sexual thoughts
will unavoidably pop into your mind. This does not make you guilty.
What makes you guilty is your *response* to that
initial thought. The moment an illicit sexual thought pops into your head,
immediately "fight off the bird" by distracting yourself with
something else, and give that other thing your full attention.
3) Not
all distractions are created equal. Some activities (like jogging or weight lifting) take
a lot of physical effort, but very little mental effort. Even while doing these
things, your mind can still wander into bad places. Other activities (like
writing a theological paper, solving a math problem, or reading a good book),
so intensely involve your thoughts that you cannot easily keep thinking about
two things at once. As long as you are focused on that math, that philosophy,
or that puzzle, the thoughts of sex go away for a while. If you try jogging or
working out and that doesn't help, then try distracting yourself with something
more mentally intense.
4)
Confess it immediately. Call
someone godly who you trust (especially a priest), and say, "I'm getting
tempted again." It is amazing how confession totally breaks the power of
the Enemy, and makes him go away for a while.
5)
Immediately go near other people.
When you are standing in the presence of other people, having a conversation
with them, it is amazing how easy it is to avoid illicitly pleasuring oneself.
6) Read
the Scriptures, and the writings
of Orthodox Christian Saints. Sure, you "already know what they say".
But read it again. And again. And again. It helps.
7)
Fast. Orthodox Saints agree
that indulgence in food is directly connected with indulgence in lust. Thus, by
regularly fasting from food for a certain period of time, we do battle against
the sin of lust. If you practice asceticism and self-denial with your stomach,
that will make it easier to practice asceticism with the other parts of your
body.
8)
Don't feed the beast. Again,
guard your thoughts. Don't watch a movie or TV show that has even a little bit
of fornication, or a little showing of scantily clad beauties. Even if you only
see them for a few seconds, your brain will lock onto those images, and hold
onto them for hours (or years). Then when you are alone and vulnerable, your
brain will bring those pictures back to torment you and tempt you. Therefore,
avoid these triggers to begin with.
9) Look
at Orthodox Icons. Look
directly at the cross. God works wonders through the cross, and He tells you,
"Your sin may seem strong, but it is not stronger than THIS!" Other
icons are good too, for the same purpose. Remember, porn is just the Devil's
iconography. God is the one who invented icons, and He did so because images
are very powerful. Fill your mind with divine images, and God can use those
divine images to drive out the other images.
10) Be
Faithful even if you don't Feel like it. It's not all about your feelings. You can show
faithfulness, even when your emotions haven't caught up yet to where they
should be. Manifest faithfulness long enough, and the feelings will eventually
return. Emotions are meant to follow, not to lead.
11)
Pray. Don't fight lust alone.
Call upon Christ, call upon the Theotokos, call upon the angels, and call upon
all the Saints to assist you. Prayer to the Saints works.
12)
This Too Shall Pass. When
the temptation hits in a strong way, a voice in your head will tell you,
"You have already gone too far. It is impossible for this tension to go
away now, unless you manually pleasure yourself." — This is a lie. — In
fact, if you get up, walk around, pray, and forcibly occupy your mind with
something else for several minutes, the tension will go away, and the urge will
pass. Knowing this to be true can help you successfully win the battle.
By Fr.
Joseph Gleason
Source: https://russian-faith.com/explaining-orthodoxy/practical-ways-avoid-lust-answers-priest-russia-n1574
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