Warning: Thirst Trap
Apparently a lot of people are thirsty… According to my Facebook and Twitter timeline.
As claimed by the ever-helpful slang reference tool Urban Dictionary, thirst is “a form of lust or want for the opposite sex.” A “thirst trap” occurs when someone posts a provocative picture or a video with the primary purpose of gaining attention via likes and comments: mostly from “thirsty” people who are not shy about expressing their — ahem — thirst for what they see.
You don’t have to raise your hand, but can we all agree that we’ve all fallen into thirst traps before? Perhaps twerking videos and late-night selfies aren’t your thing; however, the root of lust is not always sexual. Lust defined is an overwhelming desire or unrestrained craving with no regard for consequence. Lust provokes you to override reason and morality for the sake of momentary pleasure.
We can lust after a variety of things: money, companionship, affirmation, someone else’s lifestyle, food, respect, the American dream, recognition and power. The reality is that EVERYONE is thirsty for something.
The question is this: what do you thirst for and does it satisfy? An awful amount of time and creative energy is wasted scrolling through “thirst trap” Vines. Why? Because one look never satisfies. That’s why people can spend hours looking at pornographic voyeurism and never really, FULLY satisfy their sexual craving. Thirst traps never truly quench. Just like soda, you receive temporary satisfaction but always remain dehydrated. Jesus said it this way: “What would it profit a person to gain the whole world and yet lose their soul (Matthew 16:26)? In other words, we can attempt to satisfy our thirst with the pleasures of this world, but they will never quench our soul.
Deep down, I think we intuitively know this. That’s why you are overridden with guilt after two hours of scrolling Twitter #afterdark.
That’s why you work overtime, yet money is not solving your marital issues; in fact, your increased time pursuing more dollars is actually creating a deeper wedge between you and your spouse.
That’s why posting provocative selfies on Instagram grants you wanted attention but doesn’t fulfill your basic emotional need to be loved for who you are, not for your physical assets.
In our heart we know that thirst traps are a fleeting mirage, shallow pools at best.
You may be familiar with the story of Jesus and the women at a well (John 4). I see this story as the most famous “thirst trap” in biblical history :-)
“Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”” (John 4:7-10 NLT)
Beloved, if you only knew the gift has for YOU! Jesus wants to give us living water! Those who drink of this water will NEVER be thirsty again (John 4:14)!
This woman was considered “thirsty” according to cultural standards back then. According to her conversation with Jesus she had five husbands, thus qualifying her as adulterous and promiscuous according to the moral law. She was a social outcast because of her “public” sins. Most religious officials wouldn’t be caught dead interacting with a woman of such despised status. However, Jesus was a different kind of spiritual leader.
In fact, He had a reputation of spending lots of time with sinners; and the religious elite didn’t like that!
30 And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance (Luke 5:30-31 NKJV).”
When counseling people about their spiritual health they will often say things like, “I know I should do better; I’ll come to church once I get myself together.”
Listen, when you fall seriously ill its time to go to the hospital. Chances are your home remedies are not sufficient and you need healing that only a skilled physician can provide.
The person who embraces salvation recognizes the futility of their home remedies. My friends, the church is a hospital for the broken and the sinful. The scripture declares that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” No one in the church is perfect, from the pulpit to the pews. We are all in need of the Great Physician, Jesus!
Jesus is offering His water to all that thirst, especially those of us who are not perfect. Salvation is understanding that your eternal thirst will never be quenched without a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It is an acknowledgement we are broken without Jesus, and left to our own sinful devices we will remain empty.
It is about surrender and trust, rather than moral competence. Salvation is also embracing the Good News that Jesus gave his life on the cross so that the eternal penalty of our sins would be no longer.
Are you thirsty?
“Everyone who hears this should say, “Come!” If you are thirsty, come! If you want life-giving water, come and take it. It’s free! (Revelation 22:17 CEVDCUS06)
Do you want to better understand salvation? Drop a comment or direct message me if you’d desire to talk more.
And stay thirsty my friends :-) All my love, Dex
