Cravings!

Why did Jesus say that we should hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt. 5:6)?  I know that food and water are the basics of life - I get that.  It's just that usually I crave things that aren't that good for me.  You know, I crave ice-cream or Little Debbie Swiss Rolls or more bacon.  I wonder if I could suggest to Ben & Jerry that they try making an ice-cream flavor of Swiss Rolls and bacon?  I'd buy it!

How does someone get to the point where they really do crave what is good for them?  I guess if you are crawling through a dessert and you feel yourself dying of thirst you'd accept a glass of water instead of asking for a Chai tea with a sprig of mint.  So maybe the way to crave the good stuff is to get really, really desperate.


It seems that another way it would work is if we were able to somehow retrain ourselves so that the stuff that is good for us becomes the stuff that we really want.  You know, retrain our brain so that Brussels sprouts actually do taste better to us than a candy bar.

So far I've kept this conversation about food...but it really applies to all things.  I need to crave righteousness in my thoughts and relationships and words and actions and finances and -- you get the idea; all things.  So how is it that we get to the point where that is really, really, really what we crave?


First, we have to see the damage and hurt and pain and foolishness that result from craving what isn't good and we get desperate.  Second, we have to recognize that part of what happened when we came to Christ and were baptized is what the Bible calls a "new birth."  That means that the Holy Spirit did a work inside of us redirecting our true desires.  Now, there is a part of us, the real part of us, that craves righteousness.  We just need to break the habit of settling for what is easy or common or accessible or our old routine.

Leave it to Jesus to say something profound with few words.