Impure Thoughts/Lust? PLEASE HELP ASAP

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LifeWithChrist

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Hey, everyone.

So, I was wondering if you admire someone briefly, yet don’t dwell on them in terms of lustful thoughts, is it lust? On a side not, for example, I play a basketball video game, and after a ball went out of bounds my eyes drifted and noticed a cheerleader. I briefly looked at them, then looked away, and then again looked, and told myself to stop, and tried to shut out thought of impure origin or lust. I did not in any way imagine them in a sexual manner. It was more me trying to justify what I saw as not being sinful. Sometimes, stuff comes into my line of sight, and I see it, and generally turn away or maybe look to clarify what I saw and turn away again. This happens a lot, and I am wondering if this is mortally sinful. I don’t watch impure imagery, and don’t purposely conjure up impure thoughts. Sometimes I see something and my mind wanders or I look at it out of curiosity, but try to keep reasonable retraint of the eyes. Please help.
 
Lust is allowing yourself to entertain sexual thoughts.

If you did not actively entertain the thoughts then you have not lusted.

It sounds like you are very well-grounded and scrupulous. I hope that helps answer some things.

God bless,
Joshua
 
What’s more, do not be afraid to appreciate the beauty of the womanly figure in a chaste and holy way. God made women to be beautiful and to be admired by man, but not to be made into a sexual object.

God bless,
Joshua
 
Thanks, Brother. I apreciate it.
I have OCD, so yeah I’m scrupulous. I do not entertain those thoughts, but sometimes stuff happens, and I try to push those out of my head and imagine Christ Crucified. About 4 months ago, quit masturbation cold-turkey, with the help of the lord. I am truly blessed to have his guidance. Like today, for instance, I was looking a a College Sports logo of the Kansas Jayhawks, and I thought the bird had breasts. I sounds crazy, but I was trying to figure if what I was seeing was a wing, or just a crude image. OBVIOUSLY, I did not think of anything sexual about the bird 😃
You get what I’m saying?
 
LifeWithChrist said:
Hey, everyone.

So, I was wondering if you admire someone briefly, yet don’t dwell on them in terms of lustful thoughts, is it lust? On a side not, for example, I play a basketball video game, and after a ball went out of bounds my eyes drifted and noticed a cheerleader. I briefly looked at them, then looked away, and then again looked, and told myself to stop, and tried to shut out thought of impure origin or lust. I did not in any way imagine them in a sexual manner. It was more me trying to justify what I saw as not being sinful. Sometimes, stuff comes into my line of sight, and I see it, and generally turn away or maybe look to clarify what I saw and turn away again. This happens a lot, and I am wondering if this is mortally sinful. I don’t watch impure imagery, and don’t purposely conjure up impure thoughts. Sometimes I see something and my mind wanders or I look at it out of curiosity, but try to keep reasonable retraint of the eyes. Please help.
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The “second glances” are not inherently wrong. If you think you know the person, or thought you saw something else, it is ok. If you take the step to “really look” with less than pure thought behind it, that is wrong. I think you are ok on this one.
 
Mainly, If I look a second time it is out of my scruples or OCD. I really DONT imagine anything sexual, but mainly just look out of curiosity. A second look, though, is it sinful in this case if it is out of curiosity, or just really an undefined reason?
 
To help clarify…

Lust is disordered desire for or** inordinate** enjoyment of sexual pleasure. Sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes (CCC 2351)

bolded emphasis mine.

So, merely entertaining sexual thoughts is not necessarily lust. I entertain sexual thoughts with my spouse frequently. But they are ordered toward unity and procreation, within the sacrament of marriage. If they were motivated primarily by my personal pleasure, then I would be sinfully lusting within my own marriage.

Yours sounds more of a case of scrupulosity, yet it is likely to be a healthy dose of it. You have a keen sense for the proper custody of your senses. However, be mindful of the fact that over-scrupulosity can lead to an over-legalistic concept of the faith. A sense that you must “do” things, or “not do” things, isolated from true love of God, in order to be saved.

There’s a story of a saint, St Thomas Aquinas I think?, whose intense desire to follow God prompted some of his family to “break” him of his devotion by sending a prostitute to his room with him. He had such mastery and custody over his faculties that he immediately and abruptly threw her out of the room and locked himself in. As a result, it is said that God rewarded him with the gift of pure chastity for the remainder of his days.
 
My family tries to break me down sometimes, they think I’m too preachy. My 12 year old sister calls me “JC the 2nd”.
 
LifeWithChrist said:
Hey, everyone.

So, I was wondering if you admire someone briefly, yet don’t dwell on them in terms of lustful thoughts, is it lust? On a side not, for example, I play a basketball video game, and after a ball went out of bounds my eyes drifted and noticed a cheerleader. I briefly looked at them, then looked away, and then again looked, and told myself to stop, and tried to shut out thought of impure origin or lust. I did not in any way imagine them in a sexual manner. It was more me trying to justify what I saw as not being sinful. Sometimes, stuff comes into my line of sight, and I see it, and generally turn away or maybe look to clarify what I saw and turn away again. This happens a lot, and I am wondering if this is mortally sinful. I don’t watch impure imagery, and don’t purposely conjure up impure thoughts. Sometimes I see something and my mind wanders or I look at it out of curiosity, but try to keep reasonable retraint of the eyes. Please help.
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I don’t see the sin as long as you attempt to refrain and not dwell and focus on it. Sounds ike you are trying to avoid lust. And it’s not intentional. These thoughts will come in your head, they happen to everyone. It’s if you dwell that you commit lust.
 
A second look, though, is it sinful in this case if it is out of curiosity

No,

You should know if your lusting after someone or something, a lustful thought for a brief monent if dismissed right away is not a sin. It when you allow the lustful thought to continue.
 
Thanks, everyone for all of the help!
Feel free to chime in, anyone else!

Peace, and God Bless,
Zach
 
As long as you are in the flesh, you WILL sin and have sin. You need, like everyone does, the atoning blood sacrifice of Christ to wash away your sins forever and a relationship with Him. Once people are born again, God works directly on them thru the Holy Ghost to help them turn away from sin of all kinds.

Go to Him in prayer and confess your sins, and He will put them as far from Him as east is from west. The main sin that people should be most aware of the rejection of the Holy Spirit by denying Christ. Know Him, praise Him, Love Him. No one else gets His due honor.

🤷
 
I know. I go to Confession weekly, and try to live a Holy life. I actually want to be a preist,
 
Also, sometimes I look at something intentionally, but don’t lust after it intentionally. At the point where it borders lust, I look away. Is this appropriate?
 
LifeWithChrist said:
Anyone else want to chime in, please?
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I was told once by a priest that the difference between impure thoughts and lust was desire. Thinking about someone sexually may be a sin, but it was if you truly desired to do those things that crossed the line to mortal sin.
 
Leegal said:
For example?
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I looked at a logo of something, and my line of sight caught something I thought to be a crude image. I couldn’t tell, so investigated further. I had no intention of lusting after the image.I looked again to see if I was crazy or something. The first thing my mind thought of was, “Does that logo have breasts? What the?” more out of curiosity then trying to find something to lust over.
 
LifeWithChrist said:
I looked at a logo of something, and my line of sight caught something I thought to be a crude image. I couldn’t tell, so investigated further. I had no intention of lusting after the image.I looked again to see if I was crazy or something. The first thing my mind thought of was, “Does that logo have breasts? What the?” more out of curiosity then trying to find something to lust over.
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I don’t see the sin in that either.

If you were looking for porn on the internet to “test” yourself, you would be on very shaky ground, because obviously the wrong intent was there in the first place and you went ahead and did it anyway.

But, if you happen across something that was not of your doing, and looked to discern what it was – I see no sin.

I see TV commercials. I’m watching a normal program – no sin intended – and a TV commercial comes on that is questionable. I have not sinned. I did not will that commercial or search it out, and other than thinking that TV will take any advertiser, I don’t focus on the commercial beyond doubting it’s appropriateness. No sin.
 
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