He Has Done It Already
Douglas Wilson, Saturday, January 02, 2010
Everyone here wants things, and there is no problem with that. That is a design feature; it is how God made us. But there are frequently deep problems with how and why we want things. And the central problem is that we tend to want things that God gave to someone else, simply because that is what He did. This is not simple creational desire; it is what the Bible calls sin, in particular the sin of envy.
Some desires are given to us by God so that He might fulfill them. The created world is full of created things, all fashioned by the wisdom of God for the delight of man. But the world is also full of created others, who are helping themselves to those created blessings, and we don’t like how the lines formed. This is source of all of our conflicts.
I speak particularly to you young people. Take this coming year as a time to learn the difference between those desires that you should simply fulfill, and those desires that you should simply mortify. You should fulfill the desire to eat dinner, to sleep, to scratch what itches, to stand in the sunshine, and to get in out of the rain.
You must mortify the desire to be like her, to get ahead of your brother, to win that prize so that she won’t, to compete for your mother’s approval. All of that must die, if you want conflict to die.
And how are such things to be mortified? Glory to God, He has done it already. You cannot die in this way, but one has died on your behalf. Look to Him.
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