Then desire, after it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.
—James 1:15
Many Christians find today’s verse confusing and even a bit scary. They wonder if it means all their desires are sinful or if someday God will strike them down because of their sin. Actually, today’s verse means neither of those things. James meant it as a cautionary tale about how sin progresses.
Notice that James starts out talking about desire. Desire in itself is not usually sinful. We all desire certain things, and many of them—such as love, family, health and careers—are good and natural. The problem occurs when Satan, as he likes to do, twists those desires so they prey on our pride. The desire for love is good, but it is not good to say, “I deserve love, so I’m going to have an affair.” The desire for health is good, but not if you starve yourself at the expense of your body’s needs.
However, twisted desire does not always immediately lead to the worst consequences of sin. How can you know when your desire is giving birth to sin and stop it from giving birth to mental, spiritual and even physical death? The key is to recognize prideful, sin-driven tendencies before they start.
Perhaps your desire for a career has become desperate because you can’t find a job. If you’ve found yourself slipping money out of a spouse’s wallet or if you are badmouthing job candidates so they won’t get the position you want, your desire has birthed sin. If you’ve committed to an exercise regimen and are skipping school, work or church to work out, that’s newly birthed sin as well. Run from temptation and straight to God. Tell Him what you’re doing and ask for help fixing it. An accountability partner or counselor may help.
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