Webster's Dictionary defines desire as "yearning, longing; strong sexual attraction; wish, request; the thing desired." Synonyms for the word include affection, ambition, appetite, ardor, aspiration,
concupiscence, coveting, craving, eagerness, hungering, inclination, longing, wish, yearning, and zeal. Antonyms include abhorrence, aversion, detestation, distaste, and repulsion.
Simply put, a desire is a want. We all have desires in our lives, and most of us know the difference between a want and a need. A need, again defined by Webster's, is "a requirement for subsistence or
for carrying out some function or activity." A need is something we have to have to survive or function in some capacity. It is a requirement. We cannot do without a need. A want is different. A want
is not a necessity, not a requirement, although one can have a want for a need, such as a want for food. So why is it that we have desires? Why are we not content with just our needs? Are desires
merely a luxury? Do they not really mean anything? Are wants bad? Should we only focus on what we need? And what does the Bible have to say about desire in our lives?
The first thing that one needs to realize about desire, and about wants versus needs, is the power that a desire can hold over someone. Desires can be very alluring, very appealing, and therefore very
powerful. And the reason that desire is so powerful lies in the fulfillment. When we want something, and we go out and get it, we receive a sense of accomplishment and power that appeals to our
pride. A desire fulfilled feels good, and therefore, a desire has the power to hold us in its grip. It is our natural instinct to look out for our own well-being, and when we are happy, we feel that we are
looking out for ourselves, doing something good for ourselves, and so we are in a constant state of seeking happiness. Fulfilling desires is one way to achieve that happiness. But we all have a
responsibility for our actions. We live in a society, in a world, that applauds instant gratification, and dismisses the idea of consequences. Problems are solved on television sitcoms in the period of an
hour. Our desires, the world tells us, can be fulfilled with minimum effort and minimum consequences. The Bible warns us, however, to not give in to instant gratification, and to always be aware of the
consequences.
"So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, ‘Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to
lie with her.' So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her. And Laban gave
his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter as her maidservant. When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have
you deceived me?' Laban replied, ‘It is our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish this daughter's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in
return for another seven years of work.' And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. Laban gave his servant girl Bilhah to his
daughter Rachel as her maidservant. Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years." – Genesis 29:20-30, NIV
We see in this passage an obvious desire on Jacob's part to be with Rachel. He wanted Rachel because he loved her, and wanted her to be his wife. This was not a bad desire because the motive was
pure, but notice that Jacob had to wait. His desire could not be fulfilled immediately. Jacob could have run off with Rachel at any time, but this would have dishonored her family, and so, because Jacob
knew that some things, the best things, are often worth the wait, he patiently endured not only the trickery of Laban, but the slow years of labor to win what he desired. Jacob was aware of the
consequences that would result if he had forced his way on the situation, if he had let his desires consume him to the point that he would get his way at the expense of anything. He knew that only bad
things would result if he acted on his desire prematurely. So Jacob exhibits self-control to the extreme in this case. He knew how to keep his desire at bay because he knew that the reward would be
well worth it.
"Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, ‘Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!' (That is why he was also called
Edom.) Jacob replied, ‘First sell me your birthright.' ‘Look, I am about to die,' Esau said. ‘What good is the birthright to me?' But Jacob said, ‘Swear to me first.' So he swore an oath to him, selling his
birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright." – Genesis 25:29-34, NIV
Now, we see the reaction of Jacob's brother, Esau, very different indeed. Esau came in hungry, with a desire for food, again, not wrong in itself. But look at what Esau was willing to do to fulfill his
desire for food. He sold his birthright, all of his inheritance rights as the first-born son to his younger brother for a bowl of soup and some bread. Esau was fulfilling a temporary need, but one can see
here how much this desire had clouded Esau's vision, this simple desire for food. He exaggerated, saying he was about to die from hunger, and he was not even thinking of the long-term consequences
because he had become blinded to everything except for that desire. And herein lies the danger. The most difficult part of overcoming temptation to sin is overcoming the intense pressure that comes
from desire. If we let it, desire can overtake us so that it is all we see, and we have moved into the realm of lust. We become selfish, we don't care about anything but that desire, that power, that
happiness, that intense pleasure that comes when a desire is fulfilled. Our judgement is clouded.
"A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil." – Proverbs 13:19, NIV
We have to be careful with any desire that it does not consume us, and make us blind and stubborn. There are ALWAYS consequences to actions, and therefore consequences to desires. Acting on
impulse, on the motivation of an immediate desire, results in immediate satisfaction, and intense pleasure, and a feeling of accomplishment and power, but what then? These things fade away and we
are soon confronted with the consequences of our actions beyond ourselves. Sin never affects just one person, and we all have a responsibility to be aware of the consequences. A good way to combat
immediate desires is to dwell on the long-term consequences. When desire begins to consume and take over, and to cloud and warp our perceptions and judgement, we will, like Esau, justify away our
desire. After all, according to Esau, he was about to die. Why should he care about anything else? He justified himself and therefore could ignore the consequences. Esau was already blinded by his
desire, and had become stubborn. It was only afterward, in hindsight, that Esau realized his mistake, and regretted what he had done. On the other hand, Jacob waited, realizing the consequences that
would result if he did not, and he was rewarded with the desire he had wanted to begin with.
Now, before going further, I think it is necessary to realize that there are good and bad desires. Not all desires, even immediate ones, are bad. There are two things that define whether a desire is good or
bad: the intent behind it and the way it is carried out. The intent behind a desire is an obvious indication of whether a desire is right or wrong. The desires we fulfill are an indication of where our heart
is at, what our priorities are. The things we desire most are the things we will do the most to fulfill, the things we will find time to do when there is time to do nothing else. So we have to be careful
about what desires we put first, how our priorities are numbered.
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before
you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil." - Proverbs 4:23-27, NIV
"Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies." – Psalm 141:4, NIV
The heart "is the wellspring of life." Our desires, which come from our heart, which come from deep inside of us, which are internal, dictate and shape our lives. Our desires make up who we are, and
show the world what we put first in our life. Everything external, all of our actions, spring from our internal intentions. The motive behind a desire affects the desire, making it good or bad. The desire
then motivates our actions, making them good or bad, and this is why Jesus tells us that the intent to do an act is just as bad as the act itself. The intent to sin is only a step away from the sin itself.
"‘You have heard that it was said, "Do not commit adultery." But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you
to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.'" – Matthew 5:27-29, NIV
The desires of our heart will motivate our actions, and therefore it is always best to be on our guard against sinful thoughts and desires. But sometimes, even right desires, and right intents can be
carried out in the wrong way. This results often in bad consequences, in results that lead to suffering. If our desires are not fulfilled in a proper way and proper time, they can be wrong desires. Again,
patience is often the key, as is proven in the example concerning Jacob and Rachel. But more importantly, in order to to make right intents into right desires, those intents have to be carried out
according to God's will, and in his time.
"They moved the ark of God from Abinadab's house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with
harps, lyres, tamborines, cymbals, and trumpets. When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord's anger burned
against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God." – 1 Chronicles 13:7-10, NIV
"‘It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way.'" – 1
Chronicles 15:13, NIV
Here is an example of David wanting to do something right for God, having a good intent in moving the ark, and in celebrating before the Lord. But the way the intent was carried into action was bad
because it was not the way God wanted it done. And the consequences did not affect David alone. Uzzah was killed because the proper preparations for transport of the ark were not carried out, and
therefore God's will was not carried out. The right desire done the wrong way produced a bad result.
So what should we do? How should we act? How do we control the results of our desires? The best example we have is Jesus Christ himself. Jesus was confronted several times with desire, and he
overcame those temptations, bringing glory to his Father in heaven.
"The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.' Jesus answered, ‘It is written: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from
the mouth of God."'" – Matthew 4:3,4, NIV
Jesus had a natural, and not wrong, desire for food. He was in the desert, hungry, but Jesus did not let this desire get in the way of serving his Father. Jesus was in the desert to fast, he had come there
for a reason, and because he had his desires aligned with his Father's, he fulfilled his Father's will, even though the temptation was there to fulfill a natural desire. Notice also that Satan used Scripture
in this passage about the trial in the desert to justify the desires and the fulfillment of them. Satan warped Scripture to meet desires of man, whereas Jesus always used God's word in the correct way:
for the glorification of the Father. Jesus and Satan, just as we all are as Christians, were involved in a spiritual battle, and Jesus knew that his desires must only be fulfilled according to his Father's will,
and in no other way.
"Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'" – Matthew 26:39, NIV
"‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,' he said to them. ‘Stay here and keep watch.' Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass
from him. ‘Abba, Father,' he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.'" – Mark 14:34-36, NIV
Jesus had a natural desire as a man, to live. He knew that pain and suffering, undeserved, were coming his way. He knew that he would be separated from his Father. He knew that he would be beaten,
spit upon, and humiliated. He knew that he would be jeered and ridiculed. And he knew that there would be people who would not care at all that he died for them. He knew all of this, and as a human,
as a man who had done no wrong, Jesus had a desire, not wrong in itself, to preserve his own life. And yet, what did he do? "Yet not as I will, but as you will." Jesus set his own desires aside to serve
his Father. Duty came first, but what we have to remember here is WHY. This is not so much about a job to do, that this was required and Jesus knew this. This was about love. Jesus loved his Father
more than himself, and gave himself not only for all of us, but so that his Father's will, above his own, more important than his own, might be fulfilled.
We are called to be like Christ. The way to deal with your desires is simple. Align them with the Father's will. Make his desires your desires. Want what he wants. But how? How are we to fight the
desires our flesh constantly presents to us? How do we make God's will our own?
"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it
is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have a desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the
evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good,
evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of
the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So, I myself in my mind am a
slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." – Romans 7:15-25, NIV
"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." – Romans 8:9,
NIV
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your mind; and to put on the new
self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." – Ephesians 4:22-24, NIV
"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your
earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But
now you must rid yourself of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." – Colossians 3:3-10, NIV
"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from
sin." – Romans 6:6, NIV
"For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, dying to what once bound us, we have
been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." – Romans 7:5-6, NIV
"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." – John 15:4, NIV
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They
are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law." – Galatians 5:16-18, NIV
So, what is the answer? God has already done the work for us. Give yourself to him, submit yourself to him, and the old desires are crucified with Christ already. Simple, huh? And remember this. God
is always looking out for the good of those who love him. He knows the bad results of us following our own desires. He knows the destructive effects of our timing, and our way instead of his. And
because of his love, he offers a way out. He offers a simple solution. Trust in him and he will make your desires the same as his. And before you know it, you will find that you are wanting things you
never dreamed you would want, and the fulfillment is not temporary. The satisfaction does not just last an instant, it lasts an eternity. Put the Father's will above your own, and watch the blessings he
showers on you when your desires are the same as his. He only wants our best. But we have to make the choice.
"...for it is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose." – Philippians 2:13, NIV
"Sin comes when we take a perfectly natural desire or longing or ambition and try desperately to fulfill it without God. Not only is it sin, it is a perverse distortion of the image of the Creator in us. All these good things, and all our security, are rightly found only and completely in him." – Augustine, The Confessions of Saint Augustine "Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." – C. S. Lewis Give your desires to God. He will replace them with new ones, and they will fulfill you more than you could have ever dreamed of before.
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