Editorial August 31, 1981 Issue

The Golden Rule and preventing lust

BEULAH M. ROEGGE

This editorial is not going to deal with the more obvious lustful acts that counterfeit love. Instead it is concerned with that lust—the inordinate desire for mere human knowledge—which counterfeits the natural love of learning, of teaching and communicating, of sharing ideas and discoveries.

A New Testament epistle warns, "Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart."^{II Tim. 2:22.} In its context this statement may refer not to physical lusts but to the inordinate desire to prove one's point, the desire that focuses on the mere letter of Christianity. This immaturity, undisciplined by the Golden Rule, may show itself in a flashy or contentious kind of information sharing. Sometimes it uses the lure of "forbidden knowledge"; usually it lacks healing content.

Such tendencies counterfeit the deeply satisfying fulfillment of genuine teaching and learning and, like all lusts, must be fed constantly. Genuine love of learning is a Christly impulsion, emanating from God, who is Truth and Love. This love of learning is not fascinated—another word for mesmerized—with some exclusive aspect or theory. Nor does it get caught in a web of elitism, of knowing things privy to but a few. Rather, genuine learners draw closer to all who "out of a pure heart" seek Truth.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

BIBLE NOTES Pullout Section