To want, to seek after, to desire . . . this is a powerful force within the human heart.  Our wants and desires give shape to our days and nights.  They are the power behind our motivations.  “Why are you working that extra part-time job?”  “Because I want to be able to send my child to college.”

Sometimes, mistakenly, people identify growth in the spiritual life with the absence of desire.  “If only I could just be and not want anything, I’d be further along in relationship to God.”  In truth, growth in God is not a matter of eliminating desire; it is a matter of letting our desires be ordered—by God.  Then, the more we desire, the closer we grow to God.

The first letter of Paul to Timothy warns that there are “foolish and harmful desires,” most especially those closely tied to the desire for wealth.  On the other hand, the passage opens us up to a whole list of things to be sought after:  integrity, piety, faith, love, steadfastness, and a gentle spirit.  Seek after all these things.  Desire them.  Want them with all your heart.