What Eskimos Can Teach Us About Lust

Paul Harvey knew how to tell a story. This is one of his best.

Do you know how an Eskimo kills a wolf? Stealth is the secret. The Eskimo sharpens his hunting knife until the blade is razor-sharp. He then coats the blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of blood, then another, and another until the blade is completely concealed by the frozen blood. Next, the hunter secures his knife in the ground—blade up!

During the night, the wolf tracks the source of the scent. Discovering the fresh blood, he takes a lick. It tastes so good … he licks it again. Not content with a mere appetizer, he licks again and again, faster and faster! With feverish delight he licks harder and harder until the naked blade shines in the Arctic night. The wolf’s craving is now so great that he doesn’t realize the sting of the blade on his tongue. Nor does the animal recognize the very moment when his unquenchable thirst is being satisfied by his own blood. In the morning the Eskimo has the wolf—a victim of his own lust.

The lesson is obvious. Like the wolf, our insatiable desire for more can be our undoing. It might be more things, more illicit sex, more power, or more prestige. Lust is a powerful force and not easily resisted. It promises to satisfy our wants—and it often delivers on that promise—for a price: indebtedness, impurity, compromise, or blinding pride. How do we resist the lure of lust? How do we avoid the haunting consequences? God tells us:

So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live, do not give in to its lustful desires. Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are free by God’s grace. (Romans 6:11-14 NLT)

God’s word is both negative and positive. “Do not let any part of your bodies become a tool for evil. Do not let your eyes drift or your feet stray. Do not let hands grasp what is not rightly theirs. Do not let your heart lower its drawbridge to the enemy.”

Put positively God says, “Give me every part of your body so I can use it as a tool for doing what is right. Give me your tongue for encouraging. Give me your arms to steady the weak. Give me your ears to listen to the hurts of others. Give me your eyes to see the beauty I have created. Give me your heart to share my love.”

It is possible to avoid the razor-sharp blade of lust! It happens when we are too busy being tools for God’s good that we do not have time to pay attention to the lure of lust!

MY PRAYER: Lord, take every part of me for you so no part of me can become a tool for wickedness.