“For all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions-is not from the Father but is from the world.” - 1 John 2:16

Over the last few days, we have talked about the forms in which the devil tempts us. The devil uses three major appeals to draw us into sin. He uses the desire of the flesh (FEEL), the desire of the eyes (HAVE), and the pride in possessions (BE) to lure us into chasing after worldly things.

But make no mistake about it, these things are not from God, nor does He intend for you to chase after them. 1 John 2:16 says, “For all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions-is not from the Father but is from the world.”

See, there is a problem with chasing after these pleasures; they are all short-term based. What these things provide is instant gratification at the cost of long-term consequences. When we choose to sin, we are choosing immediate pleasure, a feeling that we get instantly, over consequences that could cost us much more down the road.

I once heard it said that when you sin, you are choosing what you want in the moment, over what you want most. You are short-changing your long-term aspirations and desires for some quick, cheap, easy fix. And that, my friend, is never the solution.

God does not want you to choose the quick and easy way out. We live in a world that allows us to have whatever we want, whenever we want. And while in some ways that can be good, in others it can encourage us to always chase after quick and cheap pleasures.

Oftentimes, those quick and cheap pleasures come in the form of sin. Do not sacrifice what you want most for what you want in the moment. Train your mind to think long-term and quit choosing short-term solutions. God will bless you for delaying gratification and waiting for His blessing!