Slavery, sex and Satan

"The only way to resist a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself."
Or so says Oscar Wilde in Picture of Dorian Grey.

We all have temptations and desires. They were hard-wired into all of us. In themselves the act of desire is not evil. The problem we have is that they get twisted. Much like water our inner cravings take the path of least resistance to our desired end.

We are hungry, so we eat.
We are thirsty, so we drink.
Our desires drive us. The trick is to keep the right objects of desire in front of us, lest we drive ourselves off a cliff.

Joseph's brothers in the Bible desired the love of their father. This is good and natural desire and we were created to do so. The problem was that they were blinded to all else and they didn't really want his love but his stuff. They couldn't see what was in store for them in the natural world. They couldn't see that God was going to send a famine on the land so that the leader of Egypt would seek after the face of God. This caused them to sell into slavery the one who would eventually offer them salvation from death. (see Genesis 45:1-15)

They kept not the good in front of themselves, but themselves in front of the good.

Same thing happens with sex. Sex is wonderful. It is a gift from God. It is the ultimate act of union and consummation of a marriage. Yet as good as it gets it is a twisted good. Our desire was supposed to be for God. Man and woman used to run around naked in the most amazing outdoor garden and never even thought about having sex. All they wanted to do was spend time with the Lord. So they got their desires twisted up and as a result woman's desire turned from God to a mere man. (see Genesis 2:16) I know this may seem odd. I'm a pastor and have performed marriages. I have a wife. I love to marry people and I love being married but these are honestly distractions (see 1 Corinthians 7:32ff). God knew (he's smart like that) that the desire for sexual intimacy if powerful so He placed it within a safe framework of marriage between one man and one woman. (see 1 Corinthians 7:1)

We keep not the good in front of ourselves, but ourselves in front of the good.

We're messed up. Be honest. We all struggle to crave the good. It is not natural.  Oscar Wilde was right. We can't eliminate desires so the only way to abate them is to feed them. For me, it's like the diet I'm on. I can ignore the hunger only until it is time for me to feed my hunger at meal time.

Jesus has a different take of Oscar here. Our temptations are not from God they are from Satan and these Satan picks from our own hearts. (see James 1:13). Now, if we are wise and honest with ourselves we will admit we have this without fear. Then, and only then can we offer them to Jesus, the healer. This is where our weakness becomes our strength. When we can desire and depend upon God and not ourselves then the lies of Satan and the work of his minion are replaced by the proper object.

We need to do this intentionally. It takes a deliberate  act of the will. This desire is a response, one that was initiated by the Holy Spirit. On our own power, we cannot desire God but with His power we can. Place yourselves in positions of full dependence upon God. The disciples went out with no food, clothes or money.

Bart was right, our pain cannot cleanse us for our sin, our desires, or our demons.

That job, was taken by Jesus. He alone had the power to keep nothing between himself and the Good.