First and Second Order Desires
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)
This verse and others like it (John 15:16, Matthew 7:8) have always confused me. Of course it makes sense that a loving father would give good things to his children, and that our loving God would be no different. But the “whatever” seemed to have too large a scope. Why should God grant my trivial desires, like my sports team winning the championship, or to beat a favorite video game? My desires are often for unimportant or ungodly things – surely God wouldn’t satisfy those simply because I asked.
I think my confusion was cleared up when I learned the distinction between 1st and 2nd order desires. Briefly, 1st order desires are the ordinary desires we have for other things. They can be trivial (wanting to beat a video game) but also quite important (the desire for intimacy with a friend). They differ in intensity: My desire for a pair of warm socks is weak, but my desire to be loved by those close to me is very strong. 1st order desires can be moral or immoral or neutral. I can desire to treat my family kindly, to use degrading words to a classmate, and to read a short story rather than a novel.
2nd order desires are desires about our 1st order desires. I think New Year’s resolutions are the best example of this. If I resolve to work out three times a week (I haven’t) then it shows I have a desire to want to work out. When I get up early in the morning, my 1st order desire is only to go back to bed and not to hit the gym, but my 2nd order desire wants to enjoy the early exercise. When there is a conflict between 2nd and 1st order desires, we feel tension and division within us. Eventually, if the 2nd order desire is strong enough, it can shape the 1st order desires – thus the optimism behind New Year’s resolutions.
I think this passage reflects on our 2nd order desires. When we abide in Christ, we align our wills and wants with those of Jesus. Nevertheless, it may be difficult before our 1st order desires follow suit. In Romans 7 Paul laments how the things he wants to do he does not, and the things he does not want to do he does. He is not hopeless, because Christ saves him from his despair. One of the purposes of discipline in the Christian life, as I see it, is the transformation of 1st order desires by Christ-like 2nd order desires.
When our 2nd order desires are line with Christ’s and we feel a peace and sense of stability in our desire, I think our 1st order desires become good trackers of God’s will. I have never heard God’s voice, but I have at times found myself with strong 1st order desires and felt peace that pursuing those desires would be God’s will. But I also know that these desires are a poor indicator of divine calling if my 2nd order desires are out of whack. So I think this passage makes a little more sense with this in mind. When we abide in Christ, our 2nd order desires work down to affect and mold our 1st order desires. What we ask for is then close to what God wants for us, and he grants our desires.
What do you think? Do you find this is a good way to listen to God? How trustworthy do you find your desires?
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