The Power of Change: Be Aware of the Desires of Your Flesh

Wisdom Scripture

Genesis 3:6 (NIV)

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

Wisdom Quote

Isaiah 5:21 (NIV)

“Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and clever in their own sight.”

Insights: Be Aware of the Sinful Desires of Your Flesh

Right from birth, we humans want things that are not good for us. King David confessed, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). You see this early on: when another child grabs your little girl’s toy, she yanks it back and shouts, “Mine!” As adults, the language becomes more polished, but the impulse is the same: “I am my own person. I do what I want.”

Scripture calls this internal pull toward rebellion our flesh. It isn’t simply our physical bodies—it’s any inclination in us that resists God. And while the flesh promises freedom, it never delivers. In fact, true happiness doesn’t come from doing whatever you want, because so much of what we naturally want leads us away from God and toward destruction.

Paul makes this clear in Romans 8. Given all God has done for you, you are not obligated to live according to your flesh. Instead, by the Spirit’s power, you can put those old desires to death:

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”

—Romans 8:12–13

Paul reminds us that the battle starts in the mind. If you’re serious about defeating your flesh, you must guard your thoughts:

“Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”

—Romans 13:14

If you really want to build godly character, you must become aware of the pull of the world, the sinful desires of your flesh, and—next week—the lies of the enemy that work right alongside them.