Love Versus Lust

Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her [was] greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone ( 2 Samuel 13:15).

When we compare love and lust, we’ll hopefully see that they are complete opposites. The world strives to equate lust with love through pornography, television and movies. God is love (1 John 4:8), so if we have a faulty perception of love, then we’ll likely have a faulty perception of God.

Let's first consider the following definitions from Webster’s Dictionary: Lust: (1) Pleasure, delight; intense or unbridled sexual desire: lasciviousness; an intense longing, craving; (2) to have an intense desire or need; crave. Love: (1) Strong affection for another rising out of kinship or personal ties; (2) attraction based on sexual desire: affection and tenderness felt by lovers; (3) Unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another.

The main difference between lust and love is that love is a selfless concern for another person, where lust is totally self-focused. Lust is a wholehearted craving and belief in a lie that Satan has crafted. The lie varies with the situation and the person being tempted. Lust says, “If you do this thing, you will be satisfied deeply,” when the truth is that doing the thing will only lead to more hunger for whatever is to be consumed. Lust keeps growing in the person who feeds it. Love is patient, while lust requires immediate satisfaction. Love is kind, while lust is harsh. Love does not demand its own way, while lust does. Indeed, lust is the exact opposite of love.

The story of Amnon in the Old Testament is an example of lustful selfish desire. After he raped his half sister, his "love" turned to hate. Although he had claimed to be in love, he was actually overcome by lust (2 Samuel 13:1-20). You can read about the characteristics of real love in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.

Love is all about serving and giving to others. God gave us the ultimate picture of love when He allowed to His son, Jesus, to be crucified for mankind (John 3:16; 15:13). He stood by and watched His own son be tortured to death, while He was capable of stopping it at any time. He let it go on through Jesus’ death, knowing that His death and resurrection would provide the way for all people to reunite with God. Such love is mind-boggling, and it is unparalleled by anything in the world.

God gives us some awesome ways to learn His love. The Bible says that all love in the world is from God (John 4:8). When a person truly receives Jesus Christ as Lord, God’s awesome love fills his heart. When that love hits an old, crusty heart that has been previously dead to love because of sin, amazing things happen. We receive the ability to show true love, where there was no love before. We also receive power to put the lusts that have warred against us to death (1 Peter 2:11). This power comes from God’s Holy Spirit that dwells in us, empowering us to live a life of love, free from the bondage of lust.