It is commonly said, in various circles, that as you draw nearer to God, he conforms our heart to his, and his desires become our desires. That sounds nice and spiritually motivating, but what does that look like at a practical level? How can we identify whether the desires we feel at any given moment are from God or just our own selfish flesh?
I have been reading a number of different books that address the subject of giving. I don't feel any desire to do the majority of my giving through finances. I hear the idea of giving 50% of your income thrown around as an ideal to aim for, based on the fact that in Matt 19:21, Jesus tells someone "sell your possessions and give to the poor." But you if you are giving 50% of your income that means that you are still spending twice as much time in pursuit of acquiring physical wealth, than you really need to support yourself or your family. This could be seen as conflicting with the second half of Jesus' statement in the above verse: "then come, follow me."
As far as desires go, I feel a desire to give my time to God instead of my money. This has primarily manifested itself in spending time volunteering at camp for many years. I have a desire to do that, and it seems to be furthering God's glory, so all is good. I still work about one week a month, so I haven't totally abandoned my former life, which Jesus frequently called people to do. But if we look at Paul's ministry, he supported himself as a tent maker, making a point not to rely on other people's support. I feel a strong desire to support myself, and not be dependent on others, and that doesn't seem to be hindering my ministry. Because of God's abundant blessing on that aspect of my life, I am also still able to help support other people's ministries, who are not as well positioned to support themselves.
From a different perspective on desire, for the longest time, I have had the desire to get married and have kids. I have recognized since high school that this would be a much more challenging aspect to my life than my education or my career. The Bible usually references marriage in a positive light, so I have always taken it for granted that God approved of that plan. I have been reflecting over the last week or so whether or not that desire is actually from God, or is just my own selfish pursuit of my plan for my life.
1 Timothy 3:4-5 talks about the importance of managing one’s own family well, before being trusted to help manage God’s family. And it makes a connection between what it takes to be successful raising a family, and what it takes to raise up new disciples within the church. I have little doubt that getting married and raising children will give me a better fundamental understanding of other people. And when compared to other aspects like wisdom, knowledge, and temperance, I can see how I need to grow in that area. So my desire to have my own family seems quite plausible to line up with God’s desires to grow me into a better leader in his kingdom.
I can’t prove that my desires line up with God’s, but from a Biblical perspective, they don’t seem to be in conflict, at least the major ones examined here. But it is good to step back and re-evaluate them every once in a while.
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