Foolish Stew

We will live in a sensual driven culture. Sensuality is not limited to sexual practices, but what is touched, tasted, smelled, viewed or digested to satisfy and satiate the senses. In other words, sensuality is feeding fleshly appetites, but it is very much in opposition to the Spirit of God.

Ephesians 5:3 says, "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people" (NIV). In the original, sexual immorality is porneía which we get the English terms "pornography, pornographic". The Greek word porneía itself derives from a root word that means "to selling off" (Bible Hub by Biblos).

The Bible gives an example of such a man who sold off his birthright. Hebrews 12:16 says, "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright" (KJV). Esau was a man ruled by sensual appetites. He was hungry and demanded food at the cost of losing his rightful inheritance. Even after he repented, it was much too late to regain what was lost. Interestingly the same word for sexual immorality is the same word used in Ephesians 5:3 except it refers to a male prostitute. Esau symbolically prostituted away his inheritance for a bowl of savory soup!

Beloved, how many of us are dwelling on unholy and godless thoughts? Where is our eyes shifting and gazing on when we walk down the street? What are we reading that we live the lives of characters doing things we can only imagine but dare not do? Or watch TV programs you know God has spoken more than once to shut off?

Each time we feed the temporal and sensual, we lose a little more of our rich inheritance in Christ. Blessings that would have been given but we are too full of the world's sickening stew! Brothers and sisters, and this includes myself, we need to stop selling away a holy, blood purchased life for just a little bit of world's treats and sweets when it leaves us empty and depleted of any life and strength.