How do the benefits compare with the consequences of greed? Exactly how do we go about hearing the Holy Spirit and heeding his direction?
Let me make this perfectly clear: if you listen to God’s Spirit within, you will seek to please him and to benefit others, not to satisfy your selfish desires. If your self-serving motives oppose what the Holy Spirit wants to do, you will live in conflict, not fulfilling the purpose you feel called to. — Galatians 5:16–17 The Discussion Bible
“To do or not to do?” That is indeed the question. But it’s not just a question of behavior. It’s a question of desire.
We often say, “I didn’t want to do that,” especially when we look back on mistakes, sins, or even destructive habits. Yet in the moment we made the choice, we thought it was the best option we had. Given our mindset, our emotions, and the craving in that instant, we wanted to do it.
That’s the uncomfortable truth we don’t always want to face.
The Hindsight Illusion
Hindsight is better than foresight, but we make a mistake to say, “I should have known.” That’s an argument against reality. Yes, maybe we’ve been taught to do better, but those lessons were either forgotten or ignored at the time. Instead, we should ask, “Why didn’t I know then what I know now?”
Earlier, we did what felt right—to meet a need, experience relief, or pursue a reward. It gave us something we thought was good at the time. But not afterward. By taking a harsh look at why we don’t feel that way now is an important step toward breaking addictive patterns. Why? We’re looking for the causes, which are our deeply embedded desires. Our regrettable actions, what we often call sin, are mere symptoms of the disease.
We may say, “I want to stop,” but at the moment of temptation, a stronger desire whispers, “This will be good for you.” If we really didn’t want it—if our inner desires were truly aligned with God’s truth—we would never want anything other than what he wants.
The Healthy or Diseased Heart
We can talk about temptation, and we can rationalize our choices, but ultimately, we sin because we want to. For a Christian, that doesn’t sound very spiritual, but it’s true. That’s why repentance is more than saying, “I’m sorry.”
Consider Judas, who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. He was sorry, gave the money back, and hanged himself. Three times, Peter denied any connections with Jesus, but wept bitterly. We know he was more than just sorry. He repented, desperate to change. How do we know that? Because Jesus said to him, “After you have repented, strengthen your brothers.”
Real change doesn’t happen until we address what we want. When we repent, surrendering our self-serving desires to God, we make it possible for him to heal our diseased hearts. Until then, we’ll continue in patterns of disobedience—even while pretending we hate what we’re doing.
Sin Is a Symptom, Not the Disease
Back in the 1960s, I worked as a shade-tree mechanic, handling many basic car repairs on my own. I remember one stubborn problem—a sputtering engine that refused to run smoothly. I spent hours overhauling the carburetor, thinking that was the solution. Something else was obviously wrong. What was it? New spark plugs didn’t help. After I replaced the fuel pump, the engine finally ran like it should. Since I hadn’t addressed the real problem, all the effort spent treating the symptom didn’t help.
Sin is a lot like that. We focus on outward behavior, trying to manage our mistakes and their consequences. But unless we get to the root cause—the deeper disease of a heart that opposes what God wants—we’ll never truly be free. Real change comes only when we stop fixing symptoms and let God heal the disease.
What’s the disease? Our craving for control. Our need to feel good, safe, and powerful. We want to be loved and appreciated. But when we’re looking in the wrong places, our effort to fill that void leaves us feeling empty and inadequate. Since only God can satisfy that hunger, our appetite has to change.
Forgiveness was God’s plan from the beginning, so sin isn’t the problem. Jesus came to be our solution, the way, truth, and life that is free from sin—to heal the cause of the disease. As long as we see sin as our enemy, we’ll keep trying bandages and behavior management. But when we recognize the deeper issue—our misplaced desires—then we’re ready to receive the healing that only he can provide.
Changing the “Want To”
Healing begins when we ask God, not just to forgive us, but to change our want-to. That’s what Grace does. Instead of covering our sins, it transforms our heart’s desire. When we hunger for righteousness and thirst for God’s presence, we walk in his will, not ours. Why? Because our love for his presence leads us to want whatever he wants.
To do or not to do? That’s not the best question. Instead, ask, “What do I really want?” Until our “want-to” aligns with God’s will, we’ll remain stay stuck in cycles of regret. But when we wholeheartedly want what God wants, obedience becomes the only choice we would ever consider.
That’s where the struggle ends and real freedom becomes a way of life.
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