When Desire Becomes Our Truth
Day 2 — When Desire Becomes Our Truth
Read
Read Galatians 5:16–21, James 1:14–16, and Ephesians 4:25–27 slowly.
Galatians 5:16–17 (HCSB)
16 I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
17 For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don't do what you want.
Galatians 5:19–21 (HCSB)
19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions,
21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar.
James 1:14–15 (HCSB)
14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires.
15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
Ephesians 4:26–27 (HCSB)
26 Be angry and do not sin. Don't let the sun go down on your anger,
27 and don't give the Devil an opportunity.
Reflect
Yesterday, we began examining how self-deception takes root when we allow our desires to become more important than our faith in God's Word and provision.
In Genesis 3, the serpent convinced Eve to question God's goodness and His commands. The fruit became desirable because it appeared to offer something God was withholding. Rather than trusting what God had already provided, Adam and Eve chose to pursue what they wanted, even though it meant disobeying Him.
And while the serpent introduced the deception, Adam and Eve were responsible for the choices they made.
The same struggle continues in our lives today.
We experience desires that compete with God's Word, and rather than acknowledging that conflict, we often begin looking for ways to justify what we want.
Sometimes we know exactly what Scripture teaches, but instead of allowing God's Word to guide our decisions, we convince ourselves that our circumstances are different, that our actions are understandable, or that what we desire is something we genuinely need.
Self-deception shows up when our desires surpass our faith in God's Word and provision.
In Galatians 5, Paul identifies several works of the flesh that help us recognize how this struggle plays out in everyday life. These aren't simply categories of sinful behavior. They reveal desires that can begin influencing our thoughts, shaping our decisions, and eventually controlling our actions.
And one of the most dangerous things about self-deception is that it often makes our sinful choices seem reasonable.
Consider three ways this can happen.
Sexual desire becomes something we convince ourselves we need.
Paul begins his list with sexual immorality, impurity, and promiscuity. Sexual desire itself isn't sinful. God created us with the capacity for sexual desire and established boundaries for its expression.
But when those desires begin controlling our thoughts and decisions, we can start convincing ourselves that satisfying them is more important than obeying God's Word or considering the dignity, feelings, and needs of others.
We begin telling ourselves things like, "I'm not actually cheating on my spouse. I'm just looking." Or, "It's not hurting anybody." Maybe it's, "My spouse doesn't meet my needs," or "I deserve to feel wanted."
Sometimes we justify our behavior by pointing to how common the struggle is. Other times we convince ourselves that we're still in control and can stop whenever we want.
But beneath those explanations is often a desire that we've elevated above God's instruction.
Lust turns our desires into needs, and self-deception convinces us to fulfill them sinfully.
And just like Adam and Eve, after we act on those desires, we may experience shame, regret, or guilt. Rather than confessing our sin and turning back to God, we may attempt to hide what we've done.
The deception that convinced us to sin can then convince us to conceal it.
Anger becomes something we convince ourselves is justified.
Paul also identifies hatred, strife, jealousy, and outbursts of anger as works of the flesh.
Anger is an emotion we all experience. Sometimes it arises because of genuine injustice or wrongdoing. Other times it develops through unmet expectations, exhaustion, frustration, or feeling offended, overlooked, or underappreciated.
The problem isn't simply that we experience anger. It's how we respond to it.
Ephesians 4 reminds us that we can experience anger without sinning. But when anger becomes a means of controlling, intimidating, manipulating, or hurting others, we've allowed our emotions to lead us into sinful behavior.
And self-deception gives us plenty of excuses.
"If they would just listen, I wouldn't have to yell."
"They know exactly how to push my buttons."
"I'm not angry. I'm just passionate."
"They deserved what I said."
"I'm only acting this way because of what they did."
Notice what these statements have in common. Rather than taking responsibility for our actions, we're placing the blame on someone else.
We convince ourselves that our sinful response is justified because of what another person said or did.
But someone else's actions don't remove our responsibility to respond in a way that honors God.
There is a difference between righteous anger and sinful anger. Righteous anger is governed by truth, love, and holiness rather than selfishness, cruelty, intimidation, or uncontrolled rage.
Self-deception allows us to justify angry or hateful behavior by blaming the circumstances that provoked it.
And if we're unwilling to recognize that, we can continue hurting the people around us while convincing ourselves that we're the ones being mistreated.
Selfish ambition becomes something we convince ourselves is necessary.
Another work of the flesh Paul identifies is selfish ambition.
This one can be especially difficult to recognize because the things we're pursuing aren't always bad.
We may be working hard to provide for our families, pursuing a promotion, building a business, saving money, or trying to create a better future.
Those can all be good and responsible pursuits.
But what happens when those pursuits begin consuming our thoughts, time, and energy to the point that we become inconsiderate of the people God has placed in our lives?
We begin telling ourselves things like, "I'm doing all this for my family." Or, "Once I get this promotion, I'll slow down."
Maybe it's, "I just need a little more financial security," or "I'll have time for my wife and kids when things settle down."
And sometimes we even convince ourselves that our ambition must be God's will because we're experiencing success.
But we need to examine what our pursuits are costing us.
Are we neglecting our relationship with God? Are we becoming less available to our spouse or children? Are we sacrificing opportunities to worship, serve, and participate in Christian community because something else has become more important?
We can be pursuing something good while deceiving ourselves about what it's costing us.
Sometimes self-deception isn't convincing ourselves that something bad is good. It's convincing ourselves that something good justifies neglecting something better.
And that's what makes selfish ambition so dangerous. We may continue believing we're doing the right thing while our priorities, relationships, and spiritual lives are slowly suffering.
As we consider these three examples, notice how self-deception follows a similar pattern.
We experience a desire. We begin treating that desire as something we need or deserve. We find explanations that justify pursuing it. And eventually, we make choices that conflict with God's Word while convincing ourselves that our actions are reasonable.
James warns us that when sinful desire is embraced and acted upon, it gives birth to sin. And when sin is allowed to grow, it leads to death.
That's why we cannot simply evaluate our actions based on how strongly we feel about something or how reasonable our explanations sound.
We must continually examine our desires through the truth of Scripture.
Paul gives us the answer at the beginning of Galatians 5: Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
We don't overcome self-deception simply by becoming better at controlling our behavior. We need the Holy Spirit to help us recognize the desires that are leading us away from God and give us the strength to choose obedience.
Because when our desires begin determining what we believe is true, we're no longer allowing God's Word to guide us.
We're allowing ourselves to become our own shepherd.
And as we'll continue discovering throughout this series, that's a dangerous place for sheep to be.
Respond
Consider the three areas we've examined today: sexual desire, anger, and selfish ambition.
Which of these is most likely to influence your thoughts, decisions, or behavior in ways that conflict with God's Word?
Are there statements or explanations you've repeatedly used to justify choices you know aren't honoring God? Perhaps you've convinced yourself that something isn't hurting anyone, that another person is responsible for your reaction, or that a good pursuit justifies neglecting other responsibilities.
Think about the people who may be affected by those choices. Are your desires causing you to overlook their dignity, needs, feelings, or well-being?
And when Scripture challenges your actions, are you willing to acknowledge what needs to change, or do you find yourself defending your behavior?
Today's challenge: Identify one desire or pursuit that may be leading you toward self-deception. Write down the explanation you've been using to justify it, then examine that explanation against what Scripture teaches.
Ask God to help you recognize the difference between what you genuinely need and what you've simply convinced yourself you must have.
If your actions have hurt someone, consider what repentance, accountability, and making things right may require of you.
Pray
Lord, thank You for Your Word and for the Holy Spirit who helps me recognize the desires of my flesh. Forgive me for the times I've allowed what I want to become more important than what You've commanded. Help me recognize when sexual desires, anger, selfish ambition, or other pursuits begin controlling my thoughts and decisions. Expose the excuses and justifications I've used to defend sinful behavior, and give me the humility to take responsibility for my actions. Teach me to value the dignity and needs of others above my selfish desires. Help me respond to frustration with patience and love, and pursue good things without neglecting the better things You've entrusted to me. Strengthen me to walk by Your Spirit rather than being led by my flesh. Remind me that You are my Good Shepherd and that Your ways are always better than the paths I attempt to create for myself. Amen.