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Definition
Desire – Long for, want earnestly, (a thing , a person) Feel loss of, to miss. Express a wish for, ask for, request, a thing or a person.
(Oxford Dictionary)
More often than I would like to admit the word desire is linked to physical passion. I acknowledge that physical desire is a very real thing, but I want to examine the word beyond that aspect. During the dark days of World War II, England had a great deal of difficulty keeping men in the coal mines. It was a thankless kind of job, totally lacking in any glory. Most chose to join the various military services. They desired something that could give them more social acceptance and recognition. Something was needed to motivate these men in the work that they were doing so that they would remain in the mines.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered a speech one day to thousands of coal miners, stressing to them the importance of their role in the war effort. He did this by painting for them a mental picture. He told them to picture the grand parade that would take place when VE Day came. First, he said, would come the sailors of the British Navy, the ones who had upheld the grand tradition of Trafalgar and the defeat of the Armada. Next in the parade, he said, would come the pilots of the Royal Air Force. They were the ones who, more than any other, had saved England from the dreaded German Luftwaffe. Next in the parade would come the Army, the ones that had stood tall at the crises of Dunkirk.
Last of all, he said, would come a long line of sweat-stained, soot-streaked men in minor’s caps. And someone, he said, would cry from the crowd, “And where were you during the critical days of the struggle?” And then from ten thousand throats would come, “We were deep in the earth with our faces to the coal.” We are told that there were tears in the eyes of many of those soot laden and weathered faced coal miners. They had been given a sense of their own self-worth by the man at the top. That story begs the question. What are our desires?
We desire self-worth. Just like the Welsh coal miners of that day, we have a deep desire to think we and our work make a difference. It is exceedingly difficult to toil each day with a feeling of worthlessness. Our desire is to be worthwhile and worthy. Such is a very natural and legitimate desire.
We desire recognition. All people have a simple desire to not be invisible to the world. Most people do not need a recognition ribbon for all they do but do want to be seen and appreciated. There are loads of people who work in literal invisibility. They suffer from their lack of recognition. We are largely responsible for their lack, because we take so much for granted in the world. Whether they are our parents, children or the worker at the grocery, they desire and deserve our recognition.
We desire love. The desire to be loved is perhaps our greatest and most complicated desire. It is one that can drive us into some extremely dangerous ground. We live in a world that has defined love in a very carnal direction. Love is not always carnal. Love is the kind word, the helping hand and the warm smile for which we a yearn. Our society has, in many ways, forgotten about this type of love. The desire for the purity of the love of God stands at the front of the line.
Desire can be used to make us better persons. My hope is that you will channel your desire in a direction that will bring you peace and blessing.
Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
~~~Epicurus
Men go to far greater lengths to avoid what they fear than to obtain what they desire.
~~~Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code
Unsatisfied desire is in itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.
~~~C. S. Lewis
The scientist is motivated primarily by curiosity and a desire for truth.
~~~Irving Langmuir
There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to gain it.
~~~George Bernard Shaw
The world is little, people are little, human life is little. There is only one big thing — desire.
~~~Willa Cather, The Song of the Lark
Give me a hundred men who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world. I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; and such alone will overthrow the kingdom of Satan and build up the kingdom of God on earth.
~~~John Wesley
Ultimately, it is the desire, not the desired, that we love.
~~~Friedrich Nietzsche
The authority of those who profess to teach is often a positive hindrance to those who desire to learn.
~~~Marcus Tullius Cicero
Those who restrain desire do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained.
~~~William Blake
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
~~~Psalm 73:25
A good name is to be more desired than great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.
~~~Proverbs 22:1
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.
~~~Hebrews 13:18
But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.
~~~Romans 7:8
But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
~~~Matthew 12:7
It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.
~~~1 Timothy 3:1
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
~~~Psalm 51:6
This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
~~~James 1:19-20
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
~~~Romans 7:18
LORD, Desire can be a tricky emotion. It is an emotion that can lead us down the wrong path. Desire is also the strongest drive we have when we seek you. Help us to separate our selfish desires from those that drive us toward you and your love. May we all learn to possess holy desires that drive us toward you and your love. Amen
A Pastor's Thoughts 