Have you ever wondered why you like what you like and crave for the things you crave for?
What force is it that makes you yearn for something so badly that you do everything within your power and might to get to it?
We must be talking about one thing, i.e., ‘DESIRES’.
Desire is an emotion which shows a strong interest and craving or hunger towards something or someone.
Desire encompasses a lot more emotion and force than normal and sometimes makes it very controlling, so it is very important that we not only control them but also channel them into the right places.
Galatians 5:13a says; As for you my friends, you were called to be free but do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you.
As Christians we must be very careful of the kind of desires we cultivate. Our desires must be controlled and channelled to the right things, the very reason we need to understand our desires.
Where do our desires come from?
The bible tells us there are two kinds of desires; the spirit desires and the flesh desires and that they are constantly at war (Galatians 5:16). Psychologists say desires are generally influenced by our environment, culture, beliefs and sometimes genetics. This may be right because all of these influences our thoughts and therefore informs our heart’s decisions. So you see, it isn’t that simple. You may desire a particular thing because of what you know and think about it and how much you have been exposed to it and equally you may dislike another because of this same reason. Our desires are therefore a result of our perspective about things. If you think something is good and nice, you may like it and then desire it. But the bible tells us that the desires of the flesh are carnal and not good, they are of this world and they make us sin but the desires of the spirit is beneficial because it is good and it leads us from sin. As Christians, we need to understand that our desires are supposed to be directed by the spirit, whether it is influenced by the environment, culture, beliefs or genetics. Because of this, we need to constantly renew our minds with the word of God so that we can fill our minds with godly thoughts and influence our heart’s desires (Romans 12:2). We need to be mindful of our thoughts pattern and beliefs, and the word of God can help shape these.
to be continued …
