Proverbs 18:1,2 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.
The English word desire is a translation of a Hebrew feminine noun meaning desire, delight, bounty; craving, greed. It indicates something that is attractive and delightful. Every human being is driven by desire. The desire may be good or bad, right or wrong, holy or unholy. Desire drives a person to do what they do. Desire drives a person to live the way they live. That craving for that thing, whatever or whoever it may be, will cause a person to make wise or unwise decisions. God created man in His image. He created us to desire and delight in Him. But we read that in the Garden of Eden: “…when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (Genesis 3:6) Adam and Eve’s desire for what God had forbidden brought about the fall of mankind. Now every descendant of Adam, regardless of their nationality, education, religious beliefs, or economic condition, is born into this world with a sin nature that craves things that are either good or bad, right or wrong, holy or unholy.
The ability to list the various desires that confront fallen man is impossible. Due to the fall, what was once a singular desire for God has now become something that drives every human being in diverse directions. While we all possess the same natural desires as human beings for things such as food, clothing and shelter, no two people are alike in what drives them to pursue that “thing”, that need within them, be it an addiction, a new set of golf clubs, a new relationship, a new job or career. We are a desire-driven planet. Desire will drive a person’s pursuits. The greatest desire a human being can have is the pursuit of God. “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.” (Psalm 73:25) “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4) “More to be desired are they (God’s words and ways) than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. (Psalm 19:10)
It is ONLY by regeneration within the soul, by grace, through faith in The Lord Jesus Christ, that our desires are reconnected with God, with a new set of affections for Him.
What or who is your life-driven desire? What or who is it that motivates you to live the way you do? “For me to live and to die is gain”, said the apostle Paul (Philippians 1:21). Fill in the blank this morning. For me to live is__________? Selah
