I read somewhere that the source of all sin is desire, ungoverned by subjection to what is good.
Think about the first instance of sin committed by man. How did it happen? What was the cause? In order to get to the root of a problem, you have to identify it’s source.
Ever wonder Sin trends all over the globe? Like...what is it about sin that turns all our heads upside down? We just find ourselves drawn to do the things that we shouldn’t. There is a particular trick that satan has played on us since the beginning of time. He gets us to think that whatever we desire is good! But is that really true?
Such desires promise a false happiness. When someone insults you or embarrasses you in public and you feel the urge to retaliate, this is a desire and you may think that by firing back insults or with the strike of your hand you’ll be square, even and maybe even feel good but this joy is only temporary and short lived. Such an action could either provoke more insults from the offender or make the person sad which either makes you more angry or remorseful. Now this is just one case scenario but these things happen to us all. Some people are not drawn to violence or confrontation and as such those types of situations do not really serve as temptations for them. We each fight our demons every day, our weaknesses, our susceptibilities.
The bible refers to satan as “the deceiver.” To deceive is to subvert the truth, in other words; to lie and in order for someone to lie, they must first know the truth. The main purpose of deceit is to rob or cheat someone out of something and that is why in Jn. 10:10, the bible refers to satan as the thief
The thief cometh not but that he may steal, and kill and destroy
It is in the human nature to want and to desire things, good or bad and that makes us prone to sin. The flesh has a mind of its own and if it gets its way too often, it obtains more control over what you do. Your ability to control your desires and separate what is good from bad is your will.
Imagine as a student, you wake up in the morning but your body wants more sleep and you give in, you end up going late to class. While in the class, you start feeling hungry and in the middle of a lecture, you get up to get food. After eating till you’re full, you start to feel sleepy and you doze off, class ends for the day and you go home. Imagine you do this every day, never opposing your body, always giving it what it wants. It is time for exams, you need to read but your body wants to sleep and once again you give in! What happens is that it becomes a habit and you end up with reckless scores at the end of the semester. What does this tell you about the flesh and it’s desires?
If you always please your body, you will never get anywhere in life. This proves that not all desires are good. This is where Will comes in. The primary desire of the human will is to trust God, and to make our desires subject to God’s authority and what He says is good for us.
There is something pretty alarming about the human desire. If it is unchecked and uncontrolled, it invariably leads to addiction.
When the bible says in 1 Tim 6:10 that
This means the unchecked want of money. When you love something, you’re willing to go any length and do anything for it. So it is with money and the bible here cautions us about money and the way in which we desire it.For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil
Sometimes, our desire for status, respect and recognition in our society drives us to bad things and even when we didn’t do bad things to achieve these things, we are lost to pride when we have them which in itself is a sin. “The Lord resists the proud”
If you find yourself being tempted of a particular sin, always giving in to some desires, it only goes to show you where your soul is. In James 1:14
but we are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires
There is proof of this and it shows that we are also responsible for our actions. After some people make mistakes, they are quick to divert the blame to satan when they steal or cheat or fornicate or kill without accepting any responsibility for doing what they did.for as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he
Remember when Jesus tells the woman of Samaria at the well of the water that would make her to never thirst again, The Living Water? He was talking about freedom from desire! This living water is the presence of God in our lives and the consciousness of his will. That is all you need to be free!
