“Of Longings Fulfilled and Turning from Evil”
Is God a celestial killjoy? Many people—some of them very religious people—think so. They seem to think that holiness is the opposite of having our longings fulfilled.
I’m not so sure about this. Of course, there are longings, and then there are longings. Some are good, and some are anything but. But the idea that all human longings are to be divinely squashed? No, I don’t believe that. And in fact, I have scriptural warrant for rejecting the notion that every time God sees someone having a good time, God says, “Stop that!”
“Prov. 13:19 A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,
but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.” (English Standard Version)
The first half of this saying speaks very positively about the fulfillment of human desires. There are other biblical proverbs that also speak of how wonderful it is when people get what they long for (13:12; 10:3, 24, 28; 11:7, 23; 13:4).
However, the second half of Proverbs 13:19 is surprising. I would have expected that the second half of this verse would say something like “but a frustrated desire is bitter to the heart.” But no! Instead the contrast is with those who think it a horrible thing to turn from evil—in other words, those who are “fools.” A corollary to experiencing the sweetness of fulfilled desire is apparently turning from evil. Perhaps turning from evil is even a necessary precondition for our deepest desires coming to pass.
So, far from being a celestial killjoy, God desires our joy. Jesus spoke of his desire for his disciples to be filled with his joy (John 16:24). And in the Old Testament there is this verse:
“Psa. 16:11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (English Standard Version)
Sin is the freely chosen frustration of our ultimate joy. Who in their right mind wants to sabotage their own joy? Unfortunately, sometimes, that is precisely what I do. Think I’ll stop!
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