Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality. (Ephesians 5:3, NIV)
Notice what the apostle Paul says next, “…or of greed.” There is something here that needs to be said in our culture today.
Greed is another kind of lust. Greed is an “I want” that is never satisfied: “I want this sink ripped out, and then I want the new counter to look like the one that I saw in the magazine. And then I want this, and then I want that…”
Women, you are the water in which your husband bathes. What kind of water are you? What will be the effects on him of this “I want” lifestyle over the next 20 years? Will he come out strengthened and invigorated? Or will he come out soiled and infected?
The Bible has a word for constant demands that never seem to be satisfied, so that a man feels that nothing he does is ever enough. That word is greed: “Among you there must not even be a hint of… any kind of impurity, or of greed.”
This really is a “his and hers” verse. The Scriptures cut both ways. There are two kinds of lust. One is called impurity. The other is called greed. But remember, no man is immune to greed and no woman is immune to impurity, and the one is as destructive to love as the other.
Don’t wait until you’re married to begin addressing this in your life. Your purity (or lack of it) will inevitably spill over into the lives of those who are closest to you – your family members, your friends, and even your co-workers. Make purity a priority while you are still young.
Gals, what kind of water are you? (Guys, you can answer this too!)