Desire and the good heart
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 10:09AM 
What the church calls obedience is often the destruction of desire itself.
There is the injurious assumption that in order to take up your cross you must usually deny what you most deeply want: “Just do what God (or the church) wants you to do, whether you want to or not—always and without question.” Now, of course obedience is critical and God warrants our highest allegiance. Obedience does demonstrate our love for God. And, there are times when what we desire is not in God’s best interest for us or others. Yet notice the assumption behind the obedience–that–rejects–desire approach: “God wants your dutiful, robotic obedience. Love is solely an obligated and compelled compliance. The deep longings of your heart are not important to him. Just obey.”
(from Recover Your Good Heart)
For too long, we've been suspicious of all desire, not recognizing that there is one source, at least from which good and noble desires spring ... our new heart. Within this new spiritual center of our personality, given by God when we said 'yes' to Jesus, there is a reservoir of true and good desire. It remains largely untapped in the majority of Christians.
What have you done with your desires, noble friend? Buried them? Dismissed them?
What has been the church's message to you about your desires?
Reader Comments (2)
Great post, Jim, and very thought provoking. For years, I pushed down my desires and passions in order to help my pastor fulfill his. After a time, I lost my passion and was just going through the religious motions pretending that I cared when I didn't. Now, Father is slowly restoring those passions and bringing them back up. Although they laid dormant for a while, they were never really dead. Father was protecting them in my heart until the day when he could bring them back out again.
I'm not sure where all of this will lead as I follow my passions but I now believe that this is an important part of experiencing the fulness of life that Jesus has given me.
Aida, isn't it amazing how leaders will attempt to stir up the gifts and passions of their people ... as long as the needs of the institutional machinery are being met by those passions and gifts?