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“Don't let bad desires control you” (10 min.)
Desires can turn into an obsession, and this can be very damaging or nearly deadly. It is not bad to have desires, as long as they do not turn into obsessions or are bad desires or go against Jehovah's will.
For example, as servants of Jehovah we may have the desire to preach in needy or distant territories. This is very good since we want to help people and congregations who have difficulties to face their territory or to reach certain places.
However, it can become an obsession, for example, when we are given instructions to serve in our congregation because there is a need and we insist on fulfilling our desire, ignoring the instructions given to us and even thinking badly of others. brothers by not wanting to give us that assignment in the field service.
If this can happen, a priori, with a good desire, much more can happen to us if we have bad desires and we let them control us and become an obsession.
It can lead us to sin seriously and separate us from the Lord's side for a long time, as happened to David. What was his evil desire that turned him away from Jehovah? The desire for the flesh, which affects and contaminates society today.
LET'S READ: 2 Samuel 11:2,4.
2 Once in the evening, David got out of bed and began to walk on the roof of the royal house. From there he saw a woman bathing, and she was very beautiful. 3 David sent someone to find out who the woman was, and they told him, "She is Bath-Shebak, daughter of Eliamd and wife of Uriase the Hittite." 4 Then David sent messengers to bring her. So the woman came in where he was, and he lay with her. (This occurred while she was purifying herself of her impurity). Afterwards, she returned to his house.
A powerful man like David who had everything he wanted and more, who even had several wives…they had no need to sin in this way with Jehovah for another woman. However, this evil desire let him control him and he lost God's favor.
David, and this desire that controlled him, made him forget everything Jehovah had done for him, everything he had provided for him… all things, riches, prestige and victories over his enemies. Everything for which David was very grateful to God disappeared because of a simple bad wish. Furthermore, he led David to arrange for Uriah to be killed.
Bat-Sheba's husband with whom she committed adultery and impregnated her during her period of purification from her impurity. She completely forgot about Jehovah, she even forgot that he was watching everything he did. If something like this happened to a King like David having everything, it can also happen to us with any bad desire. We must never let them control us, in fact, we must eradicate them from our minds and hearts so that they do not lead us to sin against God.
As if that were not enough, as we have commented, David tried to hide with the power that he had as King the sin he had committed, incurring in an even worse conduct.
LET'S READ: 2 Samuel 11:5, 14, 15.
5 And it turns out that the woman became pregnant and sent word to David: “I am pregnant.” 14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it to him through Uriah. 15 In his letter he wrote this: “Put Uriah in the front lines of battle, where the fighting is most violent. Then stand back and leave him alone to be attacked and killed."
Is this a way of acting of a person whom Jehovah appointed head of the entire nation of Israel? Of course not. We can get a little idea of what Jehovah was feeling towards David by seeing him act in this way, and all because of the desire that we see in this week's image in the activity guide.
David made serious mistakes during his mandate, his position of power made him do very good things and very bad things as we have just read in these verses. And for which he had to pay the consequences of it no matter how much he later became aware of it and repented by opening his heart to Jehovah through prayer.
David had good intentions and listened to advice from all kinds of men and women, learned from his mistakes and focused his life on serving Jehovah, although bad desires like the one we have mentioned made him move away from him. David leaves us a very useful example so that the current servants of God do not fall into the same temptation and let bad desires take us away from God.
LET'S READ: 2 Samuel 12:9-12.
9 Why did you despise the words of Jehovah by doing what is wrong in his eyes? You killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword! And then after you killed him with the Ammonite sword, you took her wife and married her. 10 Now the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me by taking Uriah the Hittite's wife and marrying her.' 11 This is what Jehovah says: 'Now I will send you calamities that will come out of your own house. And, before your very eyes, I will take your wives from you and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight. 12 You acted in secret, but I will do this in front of all Israel and in broad daylight.'”
Learning from the Bible and following its wise advice will prevent us from suffering the consequences of possible acts that are improper for a Christian. When we see or feel a bad desire, we know from what the Bible teaches us and the mistakes made by other people in the past that we have studied in the Bible how it will end.
And the first thing we want, our greatest desire above any other, be it good or bad, is to do Jehovah's will. That's why we do as Proverbs 1:5 says: "The wise listen and absorb more instruction." Let us be wise people and act according to what the Bible says and not what our hearts or minds say, driven by evil desires. We cannot let these control us.
Let's think about how much David suffered by disobeying God and committing adultery with Bath-Sheba. Let's think about how much other biblical people have suffered who have gone against the Word of God the Bible. And let us think of all the faithful servants, how happy they have lived, living in subjection to Jehovah.
Let's think, study, meditate and reflect... Let's ask ourselves questions like:
How was David able to save himself all that suffering?
What would I do if I saw myself in that situation?
Would he run away or fall into temptation?
In addition, studying these examples and reflecting deeply has a double effect, since on the one hand we become aware of the desires that are wrong and on the other hand we reinforce the hatred we feel for bad things.
Of course, this is not always easy since it requires a lot of discipline, study and self-control from us to discard from our minds and hearts desires and feelings contrary to the Bible and that today's society has ingrained so much in our lives. Self-control is essential to not look at bad things, or think about them, much less do them ourselves.
LET'S READ: Galatians 5:16,22,23.
16 But I say: Keep walking by spirit and you will not carry out any carnal desire. 22 On the other hand, the fruit of the spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 mildness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
On the other hand, the fruit of the spirit is love, happiness, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control. There is no law against such things.
Neither law nor bad desire can be put against Him but for this we really have to work and cultivate these good qualities that Jehovah transmits to us, trusting in his word, praying to God and asking for his help. We are to study and meditate on his Word, the Bible.
This is continuous work and begins by asking ourselves: «In what situations do I have to better control my feelings so that they don't control me in a bad way?
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