Looking beyond lust

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But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

--James 1:14-15

There are an estimated 300,000 pornography sites on the Internet. As many as 2 million Americans are addicted to cyber-porn, according to the National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity. Two years ago, Forbes magazine estimated the revenues of the porn industry as at least $2.6 billion a year, including hundreds of millions of dollars from cable pay-per-view.

Porn stars are now celebrities -- one was recently a candidate for governor of California, as was porn publisher Larry Flynt. Teenage girls wear T-shirts with "Porn Star" emblazoned in glittering letters.

In a sex-saturated culture, Joshua Harris says he believes "lust may be the defining struggle for this generation."

Wearing a sweater and jeans, the youthful 29-year-old could easily pass for a college student. But he is already a best-selling author, married father of two, and executive pastor of the 3,000-member Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg.

In his latest book, "Not Even a Hint: Guarding Your Heart Against Lust," Mr. Harris says there are good reasons to resist temptation.

"It's not just, say no [to sex], but say yes -- to sexual pleasure within marriage. The security of sex with one's spouse gives comfort of faithfulness," he said in an interview in his church office.

Lust, he says, is to "want what you don't have and weren't meant to have ... go[ing] outside God's guidelines to find satisfaction."