My dear readers,

Will You Let Go of Sinful Desires?

Proverbs 13:19: “The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.”

Desires are part of living for every human. According to the Holy Bible, when the desires are for sinful things, they become lusts. For example, in 1 Timothy 3:1, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work,” and Matthew 5:28, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” The word desire in “desireth a good work” and “to lust after her” is the same Greek word. The context of 1 Timothy 3:1 is a good desire whereas the desire in Matthew 5:28 is sinful, so the KJV translators used the English word “lust” correctly to capture the meaning of the word according to its context.

• Sweet to the soul -- Whether the desire is good or bad, it is sweet once it is accomplished in the person’s life. God created man with this desire so that he can have the drive to keep going. When a person stops having desires, he stops living. The purpose for getting up in the morning dies when his desire dies. Parents’ love for children is a compelling and lasting desire, and it can often last a lifetime. Sacrifices are made to fulfil these desires. A runner representing his country in the Olympics understands the responsibility and honour given to him. He sacrifices his sleep and social life to train and prepare in order to peak in his performance at the Olympics. He has been dreaming of competing in the Olympics since he was a child. He trained and sacrificed all his life toward this day. As he marches beside his fellow athletes in his nation’s contingent with his national flag in front of them, the joy that fills his heart overwhelms him, causing him to be choked up and nearly collapse. He is emotionally delirious as he soaks in the Olympic atmosphere, with thousands of cheering spectators and millions all over the world watching live on television or over the Internet.

The accomplishment of any desire in anyone’s life will bring great joy – a bus driver who always wanted to drive a bus, an entrepreneur who always wanted to be his own boss, a young mother who has longed to be a stay-at-home mother, a scientist wanting to study and discover why tiny insects are so resilient in a desert environment, etc. There is no end to what a person can do once he has a desire that propels him forward until he reaches his goal. Once the goal is reached, the joy is indescribable. It is mixed with elation and a deep sense of great satisfaction and self-accomplishment.

This desire is also true in the realm of evil when wicked men and women plan and execute successfully to rob, steal, cheat and even kill their victims. They are very joyful when they succeed and are often very well rewarded. There is no difference in their joy compared to the Olympian, successful businessman, scientist, etc mentioned above.

The joy described in Proverbs 13:19 from a desire accomplished is also true in the spiritual realm. Believers who find salvation in Christ experience an indescribable joy, which originates from the heavenly throne of God almighty. To experience for the first time the cleansing power of the blood of Christ washing away every stain of both the original sin and wilful sins committed is beyond man’s wildest imagination. The peace of God fills the inner soul like cool, refreshing water quenching a parched, cracked earth. No matter how hard one tries to take hold of peace within, peace remains elusive. It is like the sweet carrot dangling in front of the speeding horse; no matter how fast he runs, the carrot remains unattainable. Once God’s peace enters the soul, it is like the removal of a one-thousand-kilogram boulder that has been crushing the soul since the day of birth. The moment salvation is accomplished, sweetness enters the soul. 

When professing believers plot and execute their evil in undermining the faith of believers by slander and evil gossip, the spiritual well-being of the church is endangered; they will also experience sweetness in their souls.

• An abomination to the soul -- Believers whose desires are fulfilled, and bring holiness and spiritual maturity, become more like Christ, and the sweetness to their souls remains. They do not wish to lose their sweet fellowship with their heavenly Father. Therefore, when they fall into sin, they repent immediately. They know this sweetness can be lost only when sin remains in their lives and hearts. They continue to repent as they are very sensitive to their own sins, and from the moment lust begins within them (no man knows, but God knows), they repent before their almighty, loving heavenly Father in sincere repentance — they desire to please their heavenly Father at all costs. The accomplishment of this holy desire is sweet to their souls. They do not want this sweetness to leave their heart and soul. The only way is to keep repenting and obeying God’s Word as they learn to live for others, deny self, show compassion and empathy in judgment and always do what is right in the sight of God and man according to God’s Word constrained by God’s love.

But the ones who are evil will not repent. They remain in sin. The sweetness of their evil fruits lures them to commit more evil. To depart from evil is an abomination to them! These are the false teachers the Bible speaks of in 2 Peter 2:1-3: “¹But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. ²And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. ³And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”

These false teachers, who have made merchandise of their followers, are living the good life of luxury in their penthouses and expensive cars; they have fattened their bank accounts in the process of accomplishing their desires for carnality. They desire their fame and fortune, obtained through their pernicious teachings of God’s Word, which are too much to let go. They are too far gone toward hell’s fire and too far from the pearly gates of heaven to stop. They regard the departing from their evil, and their false teaching of God’s Word, as an abomination because that would mean they have to terminate their life of wealth and fame. The price is too high to pay. They will never surrender their luxurious lifestyle willingly. They do not realize they are fools. They have God’s Word in their hands but not in their hearts. They keep on abusing God’s Word for filthy lucre, condemning their souls and, tragically, the souls of all their victims who mindlessly follow them into hell’s fire.

If only they would let go of their sinful desires!

Will you?