The Eagle Has Landed!

You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:27-28

Remember the 10 commandments that God gave to Moses?  The "church folk" were so hung up on making sure they appeared to be following these commandments to the letter that they forgot one very important aspect.  And when Jesus pointed it out to them, they were none too happy.  

When I was a teenager, I went with our church youth group to the beach for a week as sort of a Spiritual Retreat.  One of the leaders tried to teach us the difference between lust and adultery by using a bird and tree analogy.  He said, "If a bird sees the tree and flies over it, that is just a passing thought, which is lust.  However, if the bird lights in the tree, that is an intentional action, which is adultery."  Not long after that class, several friends and I were walking along the beach and, seeing a pretty bikini-clad young lady, one of our group said, "The Eagle Has Landed!"

I learned what Jesus meant later when I was in college and heard, what I thought was, a radical teaching.  Jesus wasn't talking about literal actions!  Jesus was talking about our INTENTIONS!  When I thought back to that day at the beach, I was ashamed of myself.  Here I figured as long as I didn't act on my thoughts, it was okay.  After all, what did it hurt?  Then I began to understand that how I programed my mind, determined how I treated others, respected others, saw others.  If I was angry with someone (and really wanting to knock their block off), I would treat them with disrespect and contempt long after our disagreement had been resolved.

Like the old computer adage: "GIGO"  Garbage In, Garbage Out.  Be careful what you allow in your mind, because it will come out eventually.