Remember the furor that arose a few years ago when Jimmy Carter was interviewed by Playboy magazine and was asked if he had ever had any extramarital affairs? He said that he never had but admitted to lusting "in my heart," which as Jesus made clear, was just as bad as actually committing adultery. Now, whatever one might think about Jimmy Carter's presidency, everyone would agree that he was and is a most committed Christian. If someone like Jimmy Carter would admit to a problem with lust, I suspect that very few Christians would deny having to struggle with the problem, at least at some time or another in their lives.

For most of us, when we hear the term "lust" we think of sex, but we know there is more to lust than that. We know we can "lust" after all sorts of things — money, power, …