“Godly Character Means Godly Desires... And You Can Develop That!”

Sunday, March 20, 2016

When it comes to our desires to do the will of God, I believe most believers wish for the kind of devotion of which the psalmist spoke:

“I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” 
(Ps. 40:8)

But it would not surprise me to learn that many believers more frequently do what is right out of a sense of duty—because we have committed to follow Christ and want to keep our commitment. Or out of a sense of fear—because we are afraid to be lost. While I do not believe either of these motivations is inherently wrong (there are times when they are both used as motivators in the NT), I do believe that as we mature, our motivations for serving God should also mature. As we grow in our faith and our character improves, our desires for what is right should grow as well.

A preaching friend of mine recently commented on the idea that a shepherd “has to desire the position.” He said, “The first qualification is not that a man wants it. If you are a mature Christian… If you’re convicted… You’re supposed to want this. We are in an army, and if you have the ability to lead, it is cowardice to say, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do that.’ Please understand that maturity means I am willing to step up and fulfill the role that the congregation needs. If you’re not qualified, work toward stepping into this role. This is mature Christianity.”

The same principle applies across the whole of a Christian’s character. Whether they are young or old, whether they are male or female; mature Christians desire to do the good that others need, and they desire to serve God from the depths of the heart. We should be the kind of people who long to serve God, who enjoy what is good, and who delight in making choices that honor God whether anyone notices or not. This kind of "want to" is what we hope to accomplish.

But, it is almost always an excercise in futility to tell others how they should feel. The reality is that it so rarely actually works. We don't usually just decide to feel happy and then feel it. However, we do learn to feel more inclined toward the characteristics & activities of maturity when we think mature thoughts. For example, when we think about the benefits of managing our money well, we learn to desire the choices that get us out of debt or build our portfolios. When we think about the benefits of staying healthy, we learn to desire more healthy food and a more active lifestyle. When we think about the benefits of having a thriving family, we learn to desire the time we spend reading our children's favorite stories or playing with them.

That's why the Bible's perspective on Christianity is more than just saying, "You should want to be godly." The Holy Spirit essentially tells us, "When you think about how good this gospel plan truly is, you can't help but want it!"

I understand that it rarely does much good to tell someone how to feel, but it does do good to tell us how to think. “Let those of us who are mature think this way” (Phil. 3:15). I believe that the more we learn to align our thinking with God's thinking, the more our desires will fall in line with his. The more we think about holiness, the more we will desire to live holy lives. The more we think about salvation, the more we will desire to teach the gospel to the lost. The more we think about service, the more we will desire to be servants—not bosses—in our families, our communities, and our churches.

Let us think often about how good it truly is to serve God! And let us be glad for the opportunity to glorify him and bless others!

DL

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