by Chadwick Brewer<\/p>\n
“For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-comes not from the Father but from the world<\/em>” (I John 2:16).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Our desires come from God. He created desire between a husband and wife. He created beauty in this world for us to see and delight in. God made these good desires and established proper times and situations for them.<\/p>\n
John is not speaking against having desires. Instead, he is speaking against satisfying those desires outside of God’s plan and indulging them to our harm. He describes this as “lust,” which is unregulated desire. In our society, fulfilling our every desire whenever it strikes is not only encouraged but expected. Those who choose to practice self-control and follow God’s plan are mocked, ridiculed, and pressured to change. Sexual immorality, greed, covetousness, wrath, lust, and pride are just a few examples of good desires that, when left unregulated, become huge spiritual problems.<\/p>\n
Some, when they feel God’s rules are restrictive, conclude that God takes all the fun out of life. But God has made us creatures of deep passions and strong desires, and He has also provided safe and holy outlets for them. What really takes the fun out of life are STDs, single parenthood (due to our choices), divorce, arrogance, greed, miserliness, and emotional baggage. How much wiser is God’s plan! His plan of regulation is far less complicated and far more rewarding.<\/p>\n
Are we people who indulge our desires, or do we allow God to regulate them?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Chadwick Brewer “For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-comes not from the Father but from the world” (I John 2:16). Our desires come from God. He created desire between a husband and wife. He created beauty in this world for us to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[341,156],"class_list":["post-92429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-desire","tag-lust"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1334,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-does-adultery-start\/","url_meta":{"origin":92429,"position":0},"title":"How does adultery start?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 10, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How does adultery start? In what way then is it looked upon as adultery Answer: James describes the steps leading to death from sin as thus: \"Let no one say when he is tempted, \"I am tempted by God\"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25992,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-difference-between-temptation-and-lust\/","url_meta":{"origin":92429,"position":1},"title":"What is the difference between temptation and lust?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi I was reading some of the questions that many have posted and one of them caught my attention. In it, you said that being tempted is not a sin. Many of the things we do that are wrong start in the mind, right? So when do the thoughts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2218,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-gay-people-going-to-hell\/","url_meta":{"origin":92429,"position":2},"title":"Are gay people going to hell?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it true that gay people go to hell? I'm not gay, but a lot of people are, and it's not out of choice. They are just born attracted to men. So if it's not an option, why should they get punished for it? Answer: \"Attraction\" just means what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36592,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-you-explain-more-about-fornication-lust-and-desire\/","url_meta":{"origin":92429,"position":3},"title":"Could you explain more about fornication, lust, and desire?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: To start off, I just want to say I am not trying to be\u00a0antagonistic\u00a0to your response in \"My boyfriend and I keep falling into sexual sin. What should we do?\" but rather trying to fully reconcile what people say the Bible says to the lives we actually live --\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5777,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-keep-focused-and-not-be-tempted-and-fall\/","url_meta":{"origin":92429,"position":4},"title":"How do I keep focused and not be tempted and fall?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I realize that this world is not for us. What advice could you give to help me to be focused and not allow the things of this world to tempt me and cause me to fall? Question: This is a vast topic that is explored in many aspects within\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4835,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-nature-of-sin-temptation-and-lust\/","url_meta":{"origin":92429,"position":5},"title":"The Nature of Sin, Temptation, and Lust","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 30, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The pathway to death - James 1:13-16 (handout) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Desire \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Each of us is born with a normal, natural set of desires. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Those desires are the consequences of the operation of our bodies. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What is the purpose of thirst? Hunger? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0b.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Does sexual desire have a purpose? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Temptation \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Satan tries to place\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92429\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}