“Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).
The next distinguishing characteristic from 2 Timothy chapter two involves purity of thought and action. In considering this directive to “Flee youthful lusts…” (ASV), it is probably natural to think of this counsel in terms of sexual lust. However, this concept involves more than just an inappropriate physical or emotional response.
This reference to “lust” involves “a longing, especially for something that is forbidden.” (1) In a general sense, “lust” can be identified with a person who seeks to use others to fulfill their appetites and desires. It may also involve an intense desire to possess (or control) someone or something that belongs to someone else.
It is important to note that lust differs from love in an important respect. You see, love involves giving and consideration of others’ needs (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-7). On the other hand, lust often involves things like exploitation and selfishness (see Colossians 3:5 and 1 Thessalonians 4:4-5). Since God is love (1 John 4:8), lust is incompatible with His character.
In addition to what we read here in 2 Timothy 2:22, the Biblical book of 1 Peter speaks disparagingly of lust as well…
“You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols” (NLT).
Finally, we should remember that a lustful person is rarely satisfied with what he or she already has. Much like a small amount of rust that grows to consume a large piece of metal, lust also tends to grow if left unchecked. This brings us to an old adage that offers a simple but effective means of fleeing lust: “If you feed it, it grows; if you starve it, it dies.”
In other words, we should prayerfully refrain from feeding those areas of vulnerability to lust that already exist within our lives. If we fail to do so, those vulnerabilities are certain to grow and become more difficult to overcome. To borrow another analogy, we can view lust as a spark or flame that holds the potential to ignite a large fire. Just as a blazing fire is diminished when it is deprived of fuel or oxygen, the potential for lust often becomes easier to manage if we are diligent to avoid feeding it.
(1) G1939 epithumia Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1939/kjv/tr/0-1/