This year I’ve been reading the English Standard Version in my daily devotionals. Any time that I use a less familiar translation (for many years prior I have used either KJV, NKJV, NIV, and NLT) I notice words and phrases that are translated differently. This makes me pause and ask questions I’ve never asked about the text before.
One of the words that has popped out at me in the ESV several times recently is the word craving.
This is a word very familiar to me in the context of drug and alcohol recovery. When I worked in that field for a time, we routinely asked our clients to rate their level of craving for their drug of choice. We asked how often and how powerfully was the urge to reach for their drink or drug as they always did when in active addiction.
A synonym for craving is lust, a “passionate, inordinate desire for something, usually sexual in nature.” It may also be called simply a desire or passion for something or someone.
I’m sure all of us have experienced cravings for certain foods at times. This is normal, and not necessarily a problem. But a prominent story about this occurs in Numbers 11, where Moses recounts the trouble that ensued when the Israelites started craving meat in the wilderness:
“Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” (Numbers 11:4-6)
When the rabble in the crowd stirred the people up with this complaint, they were no longer satisfied with manna, God’s provision of bread from heaven.
God put the ungrateful masses to the test by giving them what they craved. He sent so much quail that they were swimming in it. As a result of their craving and gluttony, they became afflicted with a wasting disease (Ps. 106:15). Psalm 78 tells us that many died while their food was still in their mouth (v.30).
Why was God so angry about their craving, and why was there such a severe consequence when the people got what they said they wanted?
There is such a clear parallel with addiction here. Whether it’s food, alcohol, nicotine, opiates, or other drugs, when we cannot feel satisfied without them, we trigger an addictive process. If we catch it quickly and repent, we may be able to stop the progression toward addiction. If we don’t, we will find ourselves plagued with all manner of physical and behavioral diseases and problems. This is the stuff of reality TV.
What about sexual craving?
Two of the Ten Commandments address this: the commandment against adultery, and the commandment against coveting (which goes hand in hand with craving) another person’s spouse (Deut.5:21).
There are numerous examples of sexual craving in the Bible, one notable example being King David.
Before David saw Bathseba bathing on her roof and began craving her, he had been victorious and blessed by God in every way. He walked closely with the Lord, heard his voice of wisdom, and was highly esteemed by his entire kingdom.
After retrieving her, having sex with her and impregnating her, and then having her husband killed to cover it up, David went from crisis to crisis—with his armies, his children, and his rivals. David’s anointing to lead was no longer reliable; he became weak and frightened.
David lost some of his purity of heart that day, and though he repented, this moment of craving brought terrible consequences for him and others around him.
We see all around us examples of how craving sexual sin destroys a person’s integrity and when acted upon, destroys marriages, families, ministries, and communities.
And what about the coveting and craving for money and material wealth?
This brings jealousy, envy, strife, and if taken far enough, ethical, moral, and legal offense. Craving wealth often leads to the temptation to steal and plunder. We see so much of this today with spammers and scammers who devise schemes to cheat people, all so they can reach a level of material success they covet in others.
Paul warned Timothy about the dangers of craving money:
The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Tim. 6:10).
Paul asserts that when money becomes a chief goal in the life of a believer or a church, it results in apostasy and pain. He had observed cases in which the wandering from faith began with a craving for wealth.
It’s important to note that God blesses hard work, and there is no shame in gathering wealth in righteous ways. This type of blessing trickles down to satisfy the soul of the believer and opens up generosity toward others. The Bible’s wisdom literature supports this idea:
- The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied (Prov. 13:4).
- The craving of a lazy person will kill him, for his hands refuse to work. All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back (Prov. 21: 25-26).
- Yahweh will not cause a righteous person to go hungry, but the craving of the wicked he will thwart. (Prov. 10:3).
- Better to be content with what your eyes see than for your soul to constantly crave more. This also is vanity and chasing the wind! (Eccles. 6:9)
Do you see the pattern? The righteous, when they gain wealth, find satisfaction in God because of it. They recognize that it is God who gives the ability to gain wealth. (Eccles.5:19; 6:2). This in turn motivates them to use their money in righteous ways, like giving to those in need.
Craving for controversy
There is one more instance of this word found in Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Paul calls out an individual in the church at Ephesus who is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions…(6:4).
This sounds like a craving for influence and recognition that breeds jealousy and division in the church. Those who always need to be seen as right and then manipulate others to follow them. Haven’t we all seen this type of unhealthy craving and the rot it brings to individuals and relationships?
Craving the one right thing
Now that I’ve given the bad news of the wrong things to crave and the consequences, let’s look at the right things. It’s simple. Really, there’s one right thing, and everything else flows from it.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied”
If we are going to crave anything, at the level of hunger and thirst, it is to attain the good and just character of God. The placement of this Beatitude in the midst of the others is pivotal.
When we crave God’s righteousness above every other desire, we acknowledge our poverty of spirit without God, and our need to mourn our sin. We see our need for his mercy and justice. We desire purity in our hearts, that we might see God. We want to do the right thing in how we treat others, making peace with them.
Further into Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, he declares,
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Mt. 6:33).
When we crave this one right thing, God supplies our needs, and many of our wants too. We are satisfied in him, no longer longing to return to the Egypt of our sin addictions and ingratitude.
Let us drop all of our unrighteous cravings, to hunger and thirst after this one right thing.
