Deceitful Desires
“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” —James 1:14-15
Our world is all about having it “our way.” We do whatever we want, when we want, the way we want to do it. This way of thinking seems to undergird our concept of freedom. We believe we are free to do whatever our heart desires, but our hearts are “desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9) and can easily deceive us. Most of our desires start off good; for example, it is good to be hungry and to eat. But, our desire becomes bad when we begin to eat all of the time, stuffing ourselves, becoming gluttonous, and finding our satisfaction in food rather than in Christ. The same can be said of any of our desires. It’s good to desire shelter, but when getting the biggest and best house becomes our identity, the desire has become bad. The same can be said of sex. We are sexual creatures, which God created to be good, but it becomes bad when it happens in a way that God did not design. If it happens between anyone other than a husband and wife, and then if it is not by mutual consent, then it is wrong. We have many desires: food, drink, sex, shelter, success, significance, love, relationships, marriage, and a host of other daily pleasures. But, all of them must be checked according to Holy Scripture. As Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, “…to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires”—Ephesians 4:22.
Because our desires can deceive us, we must be aware of them, continually having our minds renewed by Scripture so that we might know how to devise a battle plan to thwart the sins that so easily entangle us. We know the sins with which we struggle, but what are the circumstances around our sins? What is the time we tend to sin? What are the triggers that lead us to sin? Once we are able to discern the tactics and schemes of Satan that have been deployed against us, we are much more attentive in our Scripture reading, more vigilant in prayer, and more sensitive to the Spirit’s promptings to escape sin.
May we be aware of the desires that can so easily deceive us so that we may avoid them “and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God”—Hebrews 12:1-2. Amen.
Our world is all about having it “our way.” We do whatever we want, when we want, the way we want to do it. This way of thinking seems to undergird our concept of freedom. We believe we are free to do whatever our heart desires, but our hearts are “desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9) and can easily deceive us. Most of our desires start off good; for example, it is good to be hungry and to eat. But, our desire becomes bad when we begin to eat all of the time, stuffing ourselves, becoming gluttonous, and finding our satisfaction in food rather than in Christ. The same can be said of any of our desires. It’s good to desire shelter, but when getting the biggest and best house becomes our identity, the desire has become bad. The same can be said of sex. We are sexual creatures, which God created to be good, but it becomes bad when it happens in a way that God did not design. If it happens between anyone other than a husband and wife, and then if it is not by mutual consent, then it is wrong. We have many desires: food, drink, sex, shelter, success, significance, love, relationships, marriage, and a host of other daily pleasures. But, all of them must be checked according to Holy Scripture. As Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, “…to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires”—Ephesians 4:22.
Because our desires can deceive us, we must be aware of them, continually having our minds renewed by Scripture so that we might know how to devise a battle plan to thwart the sins that so easily entangle us. We know the sins with which we struggle, but what are the circumstances around our sins? What is the time we tend to sin? What are the triggers that lead us to sin? Once we are able to discern the tactics and schemes of Satan that have been deployed against us, we are much more attentive in our Scripture reading, more vigilant in prayer, and more sensitive to the Spirit’s promptings to escape sin.
May we be aware of the desires that can so easily deceive us so that we may avoid them “and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God”—Hebrews 12:1-2. Amen.
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