Lust of the Eyes
(Temptation Series – Book 1)
Christian Novella
By H. H. Fowler
Copyright 2014 H.H. Fowler
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
All characters, names, descriptions, and traits are products of the author’s imagination. Similarities of actual people – living or dead – are purely coincidental.
Other Books by H. H. Fowler
The Church Boyz’ Series
Rod of the Wicked – Book 1
When Things Go Wrong – Book 2
My Last Cry – Book 3
After the Rain – Book 4
The Church Gurlz’ Series
Mother’s Black Book – Book 1
In the Presence of My Enemy – Book 2
The Aftermath – Book 3
Behind Closed Door Series
Shattered Dreams – Book 1
Poison Candy – Book 2
Unexpected Guest – Book 3
Temptation Novella Series
Lust of the Eyes – Book 1
Lust of the Flesh – Book 2
Pride of life – Book 3 (December 2014)
Stand Alone Titles
Javier
Jezebel’s Apple
The Devil Made Me Do It (Short Story)
Connect with H.H. Fowler on Twitter:
@fowlerguy1
Website: www.hhfowler.com
Blog: www.churchboyz.org
www.facebook.com/www.churchboyz.org
CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
A Sneak Preview of Book 2 – Lust of the Flesh
Questions to Ponder
From the Desk of H.H. Fowler
For everything that belongs to the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride in one’s lifestyle is not from the Father, but is from the world.
1 John 2:16
Prologue
True Deliverance Divine Ministries
“Kindly turn with me in your bibles to Genesis 39,” the old preacher announced in a commanding voice, “beginning at the sixth verse. I will be reading from the NLT version because it leaves little room for mindless interpretation. The word of God reads as thus: So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing – except what kind of food to eat.
“Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. ‘Come and sleep with me,’ she demanded. Let us drop down to the tenth verse: She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her. I will pause here, for I’ll extract my message from here. Turn to your neighbor and look them dead in the eyes. Make sure your expression is stern when you ask them this question: What in the world are you lusting after? That is my topic for this blessed Sunday morning, which will be part of a series over the next six weeks. It’s high time the people of God are properly taught on the three areas of temptation.”
I squirmed in my seat, along with about ninety percent of the congregation. I was certain many of them were thinking the same thing I was thinking: This sermon could be viewed as a blatant invasion of privacy and I surely didn’t want the elderly lady sitting next to me asking such a personal question – even if it was designed to be rhetorical. So I stared straight ahead, pretending as if I didn’t hear the old preacher.
But then the preacher roared, “Don’t you be afraid of anyone in this church! Ask them! Because half of you in here are guilty as charged. Every day we see things that are pleasing to ours eyes and if we aren’t careful, our desires could become contaminated. In John 2:16, the Apostle of Jesus called it the lust of the eyes – the first area I will focus on this morning. Then we’ll go in depth about the lust of the flesh, concluding with the pride of life…”
While the preacher was speaking, I felt a firm grip on my arm. I heard the gentleness of the elderly woman’s voice before I turned to face her.
“My dear,” she said with a smile so pleasant that I was sorry to have ignored her. “What in the world are you lusting after?” She then patted my knees. “But tell it to Jesus, honey, because your secret will always be safe with Him.”
I gave the elderly woman a tight smile and turned my attention back to the preacher. If this was how it was going to be over the next six weeks – me sitting in a straitjacket – I may consider taking a brief sabbatical until the old preacher moved on to something else.
“Yes, my brothers and my sisters, the eyes find many things appealing,” he shouted. “Maybe a beautiful home will get your attention, or an expensive car. Maybe a custom-designed yacht or a mouth-watering piece of cheesecake. Then, let us not forget about the appeal of the opposite sex – and for some, it is the appeal of the same sex. However, I dare say that human attraction is one of the greatest avenues Satan uses to tempt.
“In fact, many of God’s people struggle in this area of temptation – in particular, the young and the impressionable. I always say that God is not going to stop creating beautiful people. The problem comes when we allow our hearts to become set on obtaining these desires using illegal means, as we see here in our text. The bible said that Potiphar’s wife longed to sleep with Joseph. But she didn’t just stop there; she pressured him every day to commit a grave sin against God and against her husband.
“‘Lie with me, Joseph,’ she desperately pleads. A married woman, a woman who had everything going for her. She was not satisfied, but rather became consumed with Joseph’s good looks and his muscular build. So much so until one day she eventually tore his coat off of his body. What desperation! That is what unbridled lust will do to an individual. Lust in the dictionary is described as having a strong desire, to crave, to covet or to yearn. And in the case of Potiphar’s wife, I would say that she thirsted for, or panted after Joseph with such a potent sexual desire that it made her behave indecorously. Have you ever found yourself in such an ungodly position?”
From the moment the preacher raised the question, I was wary of his intentions. I have been attending this church for well over two years, but I’ve never heard the preacher make such bold attempts in his messages. Had someone gossiped to him or had he truly received a divine impartation from God? You see, about a week ago, my best friend, Jennifer Dangerfield introduced me to Taj Brooks, her dashing fiancé. And ever since then I couldn’t get his striking features out of my mind. But let me digress to pose my own question because I may be perceived as being duplicitous, when in fact, at the core of my soul my aim was to do the right thing.
But have you ever experienced a stare from a fine-looking stranger so powerful that it pulled you completely out of your element? And even if you did regain some measure of composure, you’re left grappling with shameless fantasies too ungodly to share with anyone. That kind of magnetic pull doesn’t happen with just anybody. Well, that was how my initial encounter was with Taj Brooks. The instant our gazes connected, my body began to express itself in some very unc
omfortable ways. My heart palpitated and acute nervousness kept my tongue glued to the roof of my mouth. But maybe I had allowed my gaze to linger a little too long and received a jolt of envy over the fact that my best friend had been able to secure a man so gorgeously handsome – if I could use that as a description.
So if that constituted me as having a strong desire for my best friend’s man, then I guess the preacher had every right to expose my sins. However, I didn’t see how the scripture about Potiphar’s wife applied to me, because I wasn’t longing to have intimate relations with Taj. I had merely admired his attractiveness and hoped that one day God would bless me with my own husband. I was very careful not to let my emotions run away with me. Taj belonged to my best friend and I had accepted that – even though I didn’t agree with the way they connected.
Relaxing my shoulders, I kept my focus on the old preacher as he continued to build steam in his authoritative voice. Admittedly, it was a very interesting message, which thankfully reminded me to be on the lookout for those evil little traps. But I knew my boundaries and I knew that I would never hurt my best friend by going after her man. That was just not a part of my genetics. So truly, this message was not really for me.
THREE MONTHS LATER