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Key Bible Verses: Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want. (1 Peter 4:1-2, The message) Dig Deeper: 1 Peter 4:1-6

Have you ever thought about tyranny and desire together before? I'll never forget the first time I saw [the concepts] together [in today's Key Bible Verses]. It was arresting. The sentences said something I knew intuitively was true for me, and in that moment I realized I had seen the same tyrannizing effects on others.

But [in the moment of] temptation, getting my way and obtaining what I want never feel like the doorway to tyranny. Most of the time temptation begins with something good: food, rest, God-approved sex, the need to be loved and accepted, etc. Perhaps this is why the first sensation is always one of anticipation, of potential happiness, and of greater personal fulfillment.

[Our desires] can get so out of control that [they] become our most concrete and real feelings and experiences. In time, with the tyranny unchecked, you [begin to honestly feel] I am my desires. Or I will be the real me when my desires are fulfilled.

But that kind of life is heartbreaking and delusional. Giving into our desires only strengthens them. This is positive news if the desires are good and holy. But if the desires are out of whack, our ungodly desire takes greater and greater control of our lives, and we can fall farther and farther into sin.

—Todd D. Hunter in Our Favorite Sins

My Response: What steps can I take to battle the tyranny of my sinful desires?

Thought to Apply: We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it.—C. S. Lewis (British author, theologian)

Adapted from Our Favorite Sins (Thomas Nelson, 2012) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.

Copyright © 2013 by Christianity Today/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, set me free from any sinful desires and help me to seek only you with all of my heart.

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