Giving Up on Controlling our Wants (TMF:2096)

Monday, May 22, 2023
Peace to Live By: Giving Up on Controlling our Wants (TMF:2096) - Daniel Litton
(Tap or right-click link to download two-minute feature)

       Again, it’s not that passions and desires are bad; in fact, they can be quite good. It’s only when we want them too much that leads us to due stupid things. Therefore, we have to what? You guessed it. We need to Give Up Control of our passions and desires. How do we do that? We do it by the simple acknowledgment that, “If I get what I want, I am okay with that. And if I don’t get what I want, I am also okay with that.” This is complete surrender of the situation. “If I get the position of elder at church, that’s good. But’s also good if I don’t.” “If I get the money for my ministry that I need, that’s good. If I don’t, that’s okay.” “If the pastor recognizes me for my work in this area, that is good. If she doesn’t, I am okay with that.” One example James brings up for us is using the method of coveting to try to obtain something. Why doesn’t that work? Well, obviously if we are coveting something, we want it too much, and on top of that, we are wanting something that we don’t have a right to have.