might as well stay outta the streets too

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lust is only a problem, if it puts you in a risky place, or leads you to betray trust
so you should not always act on it, but if you NEVER act on it, you might as well not live...imo
As for controlling lusts, since I don't have the religious issues, I just ask "Is it worth the inevitable reckoning? What will this COST me?'...very often, that is enough to chill me down nicely

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The thing about being in the rat race is, that, even if you win, you're still a rat....

This is interesting, so let us take this as far as the mind can go.
Perhaps you would care to answer the question since this is what you ask yourself.
What will it cost you?
I implore you to fully answer the question with an example and reasoning why.

Most people have dug their own traps and are left within the walls of their own containment...... By any means, reason and logic are great tools of freedom.

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What is there to deny but self?

Lust can be a difficult struggle. I deal with it this way. I don't beleive that sex is a sin. I also don't think sex outside of marriage is a sin. I do beleive it is an important part of a healthy committed realtionship. I also know that in the past when I have fallen weak and had "Meaningless" sex. it feels good at the time but invariably after I feel empty, hollow cheated, like I gave away a peice of myself to some one who may not have deserved it. So i remind myself that the commitment I have made to my self and is to save that gift for someone who respects me and as much as I respect myself. My faith is strong that i am following a path that is meant for me and giving away my dignity keeps from that path.

Should being true to yourself be a struggle?
Do you really need to commit to yourself?
BTW, I like what you wrote

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What is there to deny but self?

Well I do beleive in making a commitment to my self...yes I ahve all kinds of self commitments, about healthy eating, regular excersize, all kinds of day to day earthy things, i also have a commitment to God that i will walk the righteaous path as best i can, and pray regularly to know what that it...and yes being true to my self is a new skill for me so yes it sometimes is a struggle...

Why do you have to pray to God to understand that which is true to you?
Why don't you simply ask yourself?

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What is there to deny but self?

Did God create us with the inability to comprehend a perfect love including love for oneself?

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What is there to deny but self?

Ok well here is my answer to that....I believe that we are all God and God is us...our spirit comes from God so he is me as I am he...sounds like a beatles song...lololol So when i pray to God...in some sense i am asking myself....

.......................................

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I SAW ZION IN A VISION, JAH WAS THERE AND HE IS EVERYONE, STRECHING FOR HIS RIGHT HAND, OH, ITS LIKE A FAMILY REUINON.--RIP Garnet Silk

Lust is attachment. The desire to possess.

Not realizing that you own it all already, and that the illusion of seperation from it is all your own doing.

Lust falls away as this realization matures.


x

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Destroyer Of Worlds

So if you are God, are you walking a righteous path or the creator of such a path?

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What is there to deny but self?

I am not God.....I don't claim to be God I am of God....my spiritual energy comes from God....God is the ultimate enlightened spirit...I have many lessons to learn before I can become one with God, reach that level of enlightenment

Good response. I'm with you on this, HT.

I also agree with this from Bountyx:

God's laws were made to control. They were made to control the sinful urges and temptations which face mankind. They were made to liberate people from sin. Sin enslaves. Following God's law frees people from the bondage of sin. If you know you are going die when you take an addictive poison, and the law says not to take that poison, is the law bad for trying to control you? Or is the law good for trying to protect you from harming yourself?

In the past year or so I've had an opportunity for the first time in my life to take the time to really take a personal inventory of what has and hasn't been working for me. I've also found (or been found by) Christianity to a greater extent than I had in the past and have come to realize that God's laws really will save us from harm if we take notice and abide by them.

I hate rules. Always have. But breaking these laws / rules hasn't served me well in the past and I'm realizing that they are good guidelines to follow as I go forward in life. I'm learning some lessons, wish I could say I always learn the first time around, but I'm trying to make better choices especially around the issues of lust and impulsiveness vs. self love and respect and am realizing (yet again, still, more) that putting off immediate and short term gratification in various areas of my life does lead to peace of mind in the long run. I'm a work in progress.