Lust is the desire to give in to temptation, we are talking more than a want to, more than a passing thought, but a constant nearly obsessive thinking about it.
Focus on the family says this…
''Lust is always an unholy desire for the forbidden. But though lust longs for an object or a person, ultimately the object is not its prize; its goal is the very act of desiring. The result is that lust can never be quenched. As soon as the object of lust is attained, lust wants something more.''
In Ephesians 4:19, Paul describes this endless cycle of lust. He speaks about those who have turned away from God and says, “Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.” That’s the payoff of lust — ”a continual lust for more.
Even when you indulge in every kind of impurity, you’re still filled with continual lust. You won’t be able to fantasize enough to quench the lust. You won’t be able to sleep with enough people. You won’t be able to view enough pornography. You can gorge yourself on lust, but you’re always going to be hungry. You’ll be trapped in a never-ending pursuit of wrong desires — always reaching for something that can’t be grasped.
God says not even a hint because you can’t give in to lust’s demands and hope to pacify it. It always grows. And as it does, lust will rob you of your ability to enjoy true, godly pleasure. You can’t bargain with lust and come out a winner.
As you can see, there is a difference.
Attraction is just that, an attraction...
Lust is an obsessive desire to please the flesh... obessive. It is beyond just normal human sexual attraction.
If you find a girl to be pretty, that is not lust. If you find a boy to be handsome, that is not lust.
Lust is not noticing that Sally-Jo is a knockout or that she has a cute shape. Lust is not even taking that second or third look. That is attraction.
Thinking about Sally-Jo all day in a non-sexual way is not lust, its attraction. Or having her picture on your wall is not lust, its attraction. Lust would be a constant dreaming or fantasizing about her, and in your fantasies, you are undressing her or having sex with her, which may or may not accompany self-gratification.
