What Do You Want?
What Do You Want?
What Do You Want?
What Do You Want?
In this week’s podcast, we discuss how important it is to want something and know what you want. We also discuss how God takes our best and worst desires and uses them to shape us toward knowing His will for our lives.
Audio Transcript
Howard: Today we are talking about what people want and how our wants and desires are used to shape us.
Jesus’ First Question
Dan: This is why he asks us what it is that we want. In John 1:38, turning around, Jesus asked his followers, “What do you want?” What are your thoughts on that?
Howard: Well, I love those verses. And, for those of you who have red letter bibles, these are the first words in red in John's gospel. Within the context of John, it’s already been made clear in verses 1-4 that nothing has been made without Jesus. However, Jesus still asks us what we want. Jesus cares. We are constantly telling Jesus what we want, and sometimes those prayers look more like Christmas lists than prayers, but regardless of the content of our prayers, God is using these presenting needs to draw us closer to himself.
Dan: I think this is what a lot of people struggle with — free will. Some people us the analogy of the fence. There are certain things outside the fence that are not ok for us to do, but as long as we stay inside the fence, our desires and wants are ok. What are your thoughts on that?
Howard: Well, we don’t have enough time or theological wisdom to properly answer those questions on this podcast. However, in another sense, God makes it simple for us. We have complete free will in everything we do, and God is working all things according to the purposes of his will. God uses it all!
Samson is a great example of this. Samson was chosen by God for a special purpose and given spacial gifts, and it looks like his parents raised him to think he was special. Samson made everything about himself. At the end of his life, Samson realized it wasn't about him and he dies in glory as he sacrificed himself for the flourishing of others.
So, even if we get far away from God, he is faithful to bring us back and use our bad decisions to form us into the people he wants us to be. And, one of the common ways he does this is through our misaligned wants and desires.
Dan: What about when you have wrong desires? For example, when you think something is right, but it is actually a bad desire. How does God work that out?
You Are What You Love
Howard: James K.A. Smith has a quote that sheds light on your question. He says, “You are what you love.” Samson is still known today for what he wanted most — his own glory. James goes on to say, “Our wants, longings, and desires are at the core of our identity — they are the wellspring from which our actions flow.” They define us, whether we want the right things or the wrong things.
And, you mentioned free will. C.S. Lewis shines light on how free will fits into this discussion when he said, “It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak. We’re half-hearted creatures fooling around with drink, sex, and ambition when infinite joy is offered.”
We get caught up in needing to know where the boundary is. We want license and limits. We ask ourselves, “Is it really a sin if I have 5 drinks instead of 4?” That’s not what God’s saying. He’s offering us infinite joy. Focus on him instead of exclusively focusing on the sin you want to avoid. We are far too easily pleased by things that are of much lesser value than what God offers us.
God wants us to want more! He wants us to want himself. However, as you said previously, we often want the wrong thing.
Dan: Yes, that is true. I’m going through that right now.
Howard: We all are. And, the apostle Paul cleans this up when we said in Romans 1:21, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” When we think we know everything, when we think we’ve got it, we’re in trouble.
Paul goes on to explain the whole degradation of society in these verses when he said, “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.” When we do the wrong things, God sometimes just lets us have it. We can see this with our kids as well. Parents need to sometimes let their children get what they want so they can learn from their failures.
And, he leaves no one from his criticism. In chapter 2 he turns the tables on the religious people and says they are the same. Some people claim they are above this, but all of us have desires that are out of whack.
Practical Examples
Dan: I guess that’s the bigger point. God lets us do things that are bad, and uses these things to draw us closer to himself. He brings us back home. A great example of this is the prodigal son.
Howard: Exactly, the son spends all the money his father gave him on reckless, wicked, and frivolous things. He gets to the end of himself when he is eating pig slop and realizes it’s better to be a servant in his father’s house than to eat pig slop.
So the son comes home and when the son is still far off, the father runs to him, embraces him, and prepares a feast for his son. The faster restores his son. This is the same thing that God did to David. David has it all and he couldn’t resist taking another man’s wife. And, God used even that to bring David in a closer relationship with him.
Dan: As it relates to your life, is there an example you have of this?
Howard: Yes, of course I do. I think work is the best example of this. I thought I needed to lead a certain division of the bank. I thought if people did things my way, the bank would be much more profitable and successful. I thought I had the solution. I thought I could do it all. This was right before the crash in 2008 and God let me have all that. So, I finally got everything I wanted, and it went up in smoke. I learned a lot, but it was definitely difficult at times.
How about you?
Dan: Yes, I have another work example. I used to have a goal of buying a certain number of rental houses. At that time, I never thought that buying rental houses could be an idol. But, the reality is that I neglected many things to try and achieve that goal. There was a lot of sin in my attempt to reach that goal, and once I reached it, the question became, “now what?”. You got what you wanted, but now you feel kind of empty.
So then I started digging into God’s word and tried to figure out how to steward the homes and knowledge I gained in a way that would bless others. I don’t want other people in real estate to go through what I went through.
Howard: You becoming a real estate tycoon isn’t for you?
Dan: Exactly, it’s not about you and once you figure that out, you experience so much more joy.
Howard: When David got to the end of his sin and was in anguish he wrote Psalm 51. In verses 10-12 he says this, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” This psalm has taught me for probably 30 years to know what God desires is my heart.
Dan: And, to get super practical, what I’ve learned is that when you are faced with a big decision, learn how to take your sin out of the equation before you choose something. Maybe it’s a business decision. Look at where your pride is. Examine whether there is greed and where it is located. Once you’ve taken the sin out of the equation, choose how to go forward with a sober mind.
Howard: Some of the stuff God has to take out is the very same stuff we are praying for. So if it’s good, he takes it. If it’s bad, he lets us have it. All for what?
Dan: For his glory.
Howard: Yes, God wants us to desire things and uses all those desires to show us that the greatest desire we can have is for God. Here are some of the promises he gives us.
Dan: For no matter how many promises are made, they are all yes and amen in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). There are over 1700 promises in the bible. That’s a lot.
Howard: And, every one of those promises has one thing in common — they all point us to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Everything is from him, to him, and for him. So God takes everything, including our desires, and transforms them to bring us back into relationship with himself.
Resources
Audio Transcript
Howard: Today we are talking about what people want and how our wants and desires are used to shape us.
Jesus’ First Question
Dan: This is why he asks us what it is that we want. In John 1:38, turning around, Jesus asked his followers, “What do you want?” What are your thoughts on that?
Howard: Well, I love those verses. And, for those of you who have red letter bibles, these are the first words in red in John's gospel. Within the context of John, it’s already been made clear in verses 1-4 that nothing has been made without Jesus. However, Jesus still asks us what we want. Jesus cares. We are constantly telling Jesus what we want, and sometimes those prayers look more like Christmas lists than prayers, but regardless of the content of our prayers, God is using these presenting needs to draw us closer to himself.
Dan: I think this is what a lot of people struggle with — free will. Some people us the analogy of the fence. There are certain things outside the fence that are not ok for us to do, but as long as we stay inside the fence, our desires and wants are ok. What are your thoughts on that?
Howard: Well, we don’t have enough time or theological wisdom to properly answer those questions on this podcast. However, in another sense, God makes it simple for us. We have complete free will in everything we do, and God is working all things according to the purposes of his will. God uses it all!
Samson is a great example of this. Samson was chosen by God for a special purpose and given spacial gifts, and it looks like his parents raised him to think he was special. Samson made everything about himself. At the end of his life, Samson realized it wasn't about him and he dies in glory as he sacrificed himself for the flourishing of others.
So, even if we get far away from God, he is faithful to bring us back and use our bad decisions to form us into the people he wants us to be. And, one of the common ways he does this is through our misaligned wants and desires.
Dan: What about when you have wrong desires? For example, when you think something is right, but it is actually a bad desire. How does God work that out?
You Are What You Love
Howard: James K.A. Smith has a quote that sheds light on your question. He says, “You are what you love.” Samson is still known today for what he wanted most — his own glory. James goes on to say, “Our wants, longings, and desires are at the core of our identity — they are the wellspring from which our actions flow.” They define us, whether we want the right things or the wrong things.
And, you mentioned free will. C.S. Lewis shines light on how free will fits into this discussion when he said, “It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak. We’re half-hearted creatures fooling around with drink, sex, and ambition when infinite joy is offered.”
We get caught up in needing to know where the boundary is. We want license and limits. We ask ourselves, “Is it really a sin if I have 5 drinks instead of 4?” That’s not what God’s saying. He’s offering us infinite joy. Focus on him instead of exclusively focusing on the sin you want to avoid. We are far too easily pleased by things that are of much lesser value than what God offers us.
God wants us to want more! He wants us to want himself. However, as you said previously, we often want the wrong thing.
Dan: Yes, that is true. I’m going through that right now.
Howard: We all are. And, the apostle Paul cleans this up when we said in Romans 1:21, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” When we think we know everything, when we think we’ve got it, we’re in trouble.
Paul goes on to explain the whole degradation of society in these verses when he said, “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.” When we do the wrong things, God sometimes just lets us have it. We can see this with our kids as well. Parents need to sometimes let their children get what they want so they can learn from their failures.
And, he leaves no one from his criticism. In chapter 2 he turns the tables on the religious people and says they are the same. Some people claim they are above this, but all of us have desires that are out of whack.
Practical Examples
Dan: I guess that’s the bigger point. God lets us do things that are bad, and uses these things to draw us closer to himself. He brings us back home. A great example of this is the prodigal son.
Howard: Exactly, the son spends all the money his father gave him on reckless, wicked, and frivolous things. He gets to the end of himself when he is eating pig slop and realizes it’s better to be a servant in his father’s house than to eat pig slop.
So the son comes home and when the son is still far off, the father runs to him, embraces him, and prepares a feast for his son. The faster restores his son. This is the same thing that God did to David. David has it all and he couldn’t resist taking another man’s wife. And, God used even that to bring David in a closer relationship with him.
Dan: As it relates to your life, is there an example you have of this?
Howard: Yes, of course I do. I think work is the best example of this. I thought I needed to lead a certain division of the bank. I thought if people did things my way, the bank would be much more profitable and successful. I thought I had the solution. I thought I could do it all. This was right before the crash in 2008 and God let me have all that. So, I finally got everything I wanted, and it went up in smoke. I learned a lot, but it was definitely difficult at times.
How about you?
Dan: Yes, I have another work example. I used to have a goal of buying a certain number of rental houses. At that time, I never thought that buying rental houses could be an idol. But, the reality is that I neglected many things to try and achieve that goal. There was a lot of sin in my attempt to reach that goal, and once I reached it, the question became, “now what?”. You got what you wanted, but now you feel kind of empty.
So then I started digging into God’s word and tried to figure out how to steward the homes and knowledge I gained in a way that would bless others. I don’t want other people in real estate to go through what I went through.
Howard: You becoming a real estate tycoon isn’t for you?
Dan: Exactly, it’s not about you and once you figure that out, you experience so much more joy.
Howard: When David got to the end of his sin and was in anguish he wrote Psalm 51. In verses 10-12 he says this, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” This psalm has taught me for probably 30 years to know what God desires is my heart.
Dan: And, to get super practical, what I’ve learned is that when you are faced with a big decision, learn how to take your sin out of the equation before you choose something. Maybe it’s a business decision. Look at where your pride is. Examine whether there is greed and where it is located. Once you’ve taken the sin out of the equation, choose how to go forward with a sober mind.
Howard: Some of the stuff God has to take out is the very same stuff we are praying for. So if it’s good, he takes it. If it’s bad, he lets us have it. All for what?
Dan: For his glory.
Howard: Yes, God wants us to desire things and uses all those desires to show us that the greatest desire we can have is for God. Here are some of the promises he gives us.
Dan: For no matter how many promises are made, they are all yes and amen in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). There are over 1700 promises in the bible. That’s a lot.
Howard: And, every one of those promises has one thing in common — they all point us to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Everything is from him, to him, and for him. So God takes everything, including our desires, and transforms them to bring us back into relationship with himself.
Resources