Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and the wild does of the field: do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time. _Song of Solomon 2:7 (HCSB)
*****
A while back I met a friend for lunch at a restaurant renowned for its homemade desserts.
My friend, a severe diabetic said, as he ordered a decadent piece of peanut butter pie, “I know this is not good for me.”
I said nothing (there’s a time to speak and there’s a time to remain silent), but I thought to myself, “Forget what we believe, it is what we desire the most that rules the day.”
My friend knew better. He knew that sweets were harmful for him–shortening his life and compromising the quality of the remaining years that he would have. But nevertheless, his desire in the moment trumped all the collective wisdom and research of the ages.
My friend is not alone here. No moral high ground for me!
I amaze myself at how I am able to rationalize, compromise, and disregard what I know to be true and to be best.
There’s a thousand good justifications to ignore the facts.
- “I deserve a break.”
- “Just this once.”
- “It’s not that big a deal.”
- “No one will know.”
- “It’s not that bad.”
- “It’s not technically a sin.”
- “After all the hard work I’ve done, I’ve earned a little indulgence.”
- “I’ll start back tomorrow.”
- “I don’t want to be a party pooper.”
- “Everybody’s doing it.”
We may wage the battle on a different battlefield, but I suspect we all fight the same battles with desires vs. what we know and believe.
The takeaway?
We can try to convince ourselves and others till we’re blue in the face what the truth is, but until the desires of our hearts are aligned with reality it doesn’t matter what the truth is…desire wins the day…even it kills us.
The ONE THING for today: Do not underestimate the potent power of your desires. They must be managed most carefully for they will either destroy you or direct you to the promise land.
The ONE THING 