over-desire

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Galatians 5:16)

This year God has been teaching me about my over-desires.

The word translated "lust" or "sinful nature" in Galatians 5:16 is the word "sarx" in the Greek which has a meaning that is not easily translated into the English language. When we think of "lust" in our language, we think of "sinful desire for evil things", when in fact the word means "over-desire for good things".

So when I walk by the Spirit and not by my "sinful nature" I am living in a way that does not give in to my idolatrous nature. The doctrine of sin teaches us that our problem is that we make idols of good things. As John Piper has said, "All human relational problems—from marriage and family to friendship to neighbors to classmates to colleagues—all of them are rooted in various forms of idolatry, that is, wanting things other than God in wrong ways."

So when I think of "lust of the flesh" I should not just think of sexual sin- I should think of the sin of over-desiring the good things in life.

For example:

A Christian businessman can make his job his idol and over-desire the good things his career can bring. Therefore when things go wrong at work he is condemned by the god he has created.

A parent can have an over-desire for her kids well-being. Not that wanting the best for our kids is a bad thing, but when we make it the meaning and purpose of our lives, putting it in the place of God, then it becomes an idol to us. So if things don't turn out just right- the god of "wanting what's best for my kids" will continually strike us down and condemn us.

A pastor can over-desire good things for his church.

A student can over-desire good grades and success at school.

A husband can over-desire a dream marriage.

A retiree can over-desire good things for his retirement.

Anything that we seek to enjoy in the wrong way can become an idol to us and anything we put in the place of God will end up condemning us. Our problem is not that we have sinful desires for evil things but that we have over-desires for good things.

God is teaching me that this is one of the most important teachings of scripture- it is in fact the core issue of our lives. Our problem is that we are terribly idolatrous and that we desperately need to pull our hearts away from our idols and toward the one thing that will not distort them meaning of our lives.