Is marriage an antidote for lust? Marriage is designed for companionship and to accommodate your desires even though not your lusts. I believe lust is the extreme of every desire, especially sexual desires. It is an obsession with strange flesh, which becomes a hindrance to your fellowship with Christ. Most of these strange desires are rooted in sin and should be resolved before you ever think of marriage.
Marriage to some extent is an antidote for lust. However, this only works for the short run. In the long run, this sin will overtake you and result in infidelity. Consequently, destroying your soul and marriage.
Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 7 that “it is better for a man not to touch a woman. But because of the temptation to immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.” Paul realized the weakened state of our flesh and the snare of fornication and proposed marriage as an escape from sexual temptation. Marriage in this regard helps in reducing immorality among brethren due to a lack of self-control. However, the motive for this kind of marriage is not right. As you are not pursuing each other in all purity.
In verses 8 and 9, he says “to the unmarried and the widows, I say that it is well for them to remain single as I do. But if they can not exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion.”
Again, the apostle proposed that if you can not exercise self-control it is better to marry than burn with passion (lust). In other words, instead of pretending to be strong when you know you lack restraint and end up falling, just marry. In this case, the marriage will to some extent contain your lust. Still, this is a good solution yet the motive for marriage is not pure.
Will marriage end your lust?
You may marry but will that solve your carnal cravings? No, then why did Paul propose such marriages? There was a lot of confusion and immorality was very prevalent in Corinth. They were previously pagans and this practice was not counted sin among the heathen. They had been indulging in sexual promiscuity for ages until the gospel was preached to them. However, this didn’t stop. Paul offered this solution in an attempt to bring order in the church.
If you are a porn addict, do you think marriage will solve your addiction? In the short run, it will and once you have tried out all your futility, you will end up back to porn in the long run. Marriage is not an antidote to lust, Christ is the solution.
The conclusion of this matter.
Sexual sins and all their lusts are heart issues and can not be resolved through much sex in a marriage. In fact, they defile the very sanctity of the marriage bed. The grace of God is needed to stifle the flame of passion, which would otherwise thrust men into the lake of fire. I adjure you to work on your salvation and then enter marriage in purity. As it will be very difficult to resolve a lust issue in marriage.
I always say that if your goal for marriage is sex, then you of all people are to be pitied the most as that ideal doesn’t exist. Marriage is about responsibilities and sex is not the goal. The union is intended to mirror that of Christ and His church.
