(Manimal: Elephant)
Elephants are not always easy to see. I’ve been close enough to an elephant to hit it with a rock and still not see it standing right in front of a tree. That sounds crazy, but it’s true. However, once you know what to look for, you can’t miss it. An elephant will uproot a fully-grown tree only to knock it down so it can chew on its leaves, bark, and branches, not realizing it causes the tree to die and never bear fruit again. It takes what it wants, and can leave a trail of destruction in its wake. Lust is a man-killer that will knock a man’s beliefs, values, and convictions off track, and keep him pursuing things that can destroy not only his family and career, but his mind and soul. When a man lusts after the big promotion, he will do whatever it takes to achieve that title. When he lusts after a woman, he will do whatever it takes to win the woman’s attention. When he believes he’s not getting what he deserves sexually at home, he will turn to porn and/or affairs. Why? Because he thinks having a better title, having a beautiful woman, or fantasizing about a woman willingly performing whatever he desires without rejecting him will affirmatively answer his question, “Do I have what it takes?” The dangerous thing is when those things work for him, even though they actually only work temporarily, because they leave God out and create a false identity. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12) They might satisfy his desires for a moment, but lust in any form always leads to wanting more, and the man will be tyrannized. He will continue wanting more and more of what he thinks he “has to have,” and will uproot everything he has worked for and believed in to satisfy his lustful desires.
The result? Shame.
