“Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more. Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.”
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 NLT
What you want matters. Wrong desires can derail your life. Jesus died not just to forgive our sin but to save us from our desire to sin. Paul gave three specific examples of how to please the Lord – sexual purity, supporting other Christians, and working hard. These behaviors come from a deep love of God that overflows
to others. Christians are called to love others with Christ’s love, and so we guard marriages, build each other up, and mind our own business. The first step is knowing what pleases the Lord.
Transformed desires are lived out in actions and thoughts. This means fighting for sexual purity, dressing modestly, and paying attention to what you watch and support in the media. It means building others up, dealing with anger and conflict the right way, and always preserving the unity of Christ. It means working hard, not being lazy, not gossiping, and allowing freedom in Christ. These are hard choices because pleasing God often means you will not please yourself. Obeying God often means you will not fit in and will be ridiculed. Pleasing God means the question on your mind is, “What does God want?” not “What do I want?” This is a huge change for us as humans and can only happen when you accept Jesus as your King, die to yourself, and follow Him in love.
What desires inside of you need to be purified by Christ? How can other believers help you take your next step of faith?
