Captured

I’m reading in chapter 5 of Paul Tripp’s ‘Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands’. It's very good. He describes the process of how we have our hearts captured by ‘inordinate’ desires. Here is just a little bit of the flow of thought from that chapter:

“The objects of most of our desires are not evil. The problem is the way they tend to grow and the control they come to exercise over our hearts… the problem with desire is that in sinners it very quickly morphs into demand (“I must”)… demand quickly morphs into need (“I will”) … need inevitably produces expectation (“you should”)… But it doesn’t stop there. You do not know that I have christened these desires as needs, and you do not meet my expectations. Expectation very quickly leads to disappointment (“you didn’t”)… There is a direct relationship between expectation and disappointment, and much of our disappointment in relationships is not because people have actually wronged us, but because they have failed to meet our expectations… Disappointment then leads to some form of punishment (“because you didn’t, I will…”). We are hurt and angry because people who say they love us seem insensitive to our needs. So we strike back in a variety of ways to punish them for their wrongs against us. We include everything from the silent treatment (a form of bloodless murder where I don’t kill you but act as if you do not exist) to horrific acts of violence and abuse. I am angry because you have broken the laws of my kingdom… my heart has been captured…”

I highly recommend it. (The book that is.)