As I drove home from a recent speaking engagement, I was listening to the Word of Promise Audio Bible. A verse caught my attention, not because I had never heard it before, but rather because it was what the Holy Spirit desired for me to meditate on for that moment. The evening prior, I had given my legacy message to the group of ladies at the retreat and so this verse fit perfectly into that context. Here it is from 2 Timothy 2: 22:
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
The portion of the verse that grabbed me was the first, “flee the evil desires of youth”. The NKJV says, “flee youthful lusts” I began pondering on what that meant exactly. Of course, when we are young, we can get into all kinds of uglies, but then again, so can we older folks. So, what exactly are the evil desires of youth?
I asked the question to my Facebook friends and here are some of the answers I received:
- Too much of everything – I can agree with that
- Godless chatter, stupid arguments, quarreling, greed and pride – yep, those are undeniable, as well
- Making everything about me, me, me – oh, yeah, I certainly exhibited this in my younger days
- Being dissatisfied and always wanting more – ummm, hmmm
I went to my Lifeway Online study tools, hoping to get some additional insight. The Greek word for youthful means ‘young’, while the Greek word for lusts means ‘desire, craving, longing for what is forbidden’. Nothing really new here.
As I have meditated on this verse, I believe ‘fleeing youthful lusts’ simply means run away from the desires that center on me. In Galatians 5: 24, we are told:
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires
and I think this is exactly what Paul is telling Timothy to do. We must center ourselves and our focus on Christ and living a life like His, rather than satisfying every physical craving that is flung upon us by the world. John 3: 30 says it very well,
He must increase, I must decrease.
So, how are you doing in the ‘flee youthful lusts’ category?
MEDITATION MOMENT: As you ponder 2 Timothy 2: 22, what do you think of when you read the words ‘flee youthful lusts’?
