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DESIRE
To long for, want, or covet; also the object so desired. The word “desire” occurs many times in the KJB. As a noun it translates 12 Hebrew words and 3 Greek words. As a verb it represents about 12 each of Hebrew and Greek verbs. Some of the original words simply mean “ask” or “seek,” and are translated that way in modern versions.
Desire is a basic part of life, neither good nor bad in itself. The important moral issue is how one responds to his or her desires. It is possible to let desires control one’s conduct, or to control one’s desires and use them to serve their God-appointed purposes.
Christians have differed on the appropriate reaction to desire. Ascetics have claimed, for example, that the desire for food and the enjoyment of eating is sinful. But Jesus’ examples in the Gospels show that he enjoyed good meals—so much so that his critics called him a glutton (Lk 7:34). His first miracle in John’s Gospel was performed at a wedding in Cana of Galilee, where the feasting probably went on for several days (Jn 2:1-11).
Many think that sexual desire is bad, but it is of itself no more evil than the desire for food. God created people with both desires, and they both must be kept under control, in obedience to God’s law.
How does one distinguish between good desire and bad desire? Ultimately there is one basic issue: Is a person’s desire self-centered or a desire for God’s will? The Bible teaches that the essence of sin is a determination to have one’s own way. Although King Saul never committed the dual crimes of adultery and murder that King David did, David was honored and Saul was reproached. The reason given by the Bible is that David was “a man after [God’s] heart,” who wanted to do God’s will (Acts 13:22). But Saul was stubborn and self-willed, and he was rejected for that reason (1 Sm 15:23).
Evil desire, therefore, is not necessarily a desire for something that one might label as wicked. It is essentially the desire to have one’s own way. As such, it is idolatry, putting self in place of God. Without desire, nothing is accomplished in life. But one’s actions must always be in accord with God’s will as it is revealed in his Word. The Bible even promises that if people take delight in the Lord, then God will give them the desires of their heart (Ps 37:4; cf. Ps 145:16, 19; Prv 10:24; Mt 6:33). When God is one’s greatest desire, all other desires become properly oriented and can thus mirror God’s own desires for his people’s well-being.