Is Desire a Dirty Word?

I don't think so. Here's why.

Sometimes, the heritage of Greek philosophy in the New Testament and of Puritanism in the US can blind us to the deep beauty of our desire. So we usually think of desire as something wholly to be avoided. The desires are often cast as dark, sinister forces within us that must be tamed, sometimes brutally.

Underneath this skewed vision of desire, there is of course some truth: Our desires, like our will and our mind, when distorted by sin can lead us astray. The Sermon on the Mount has been cited to support this idea (though there is much more going on there).

But we know, by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, that desire is also what drives us toward that grace! In the context of both the Old Testament and the New Testament, desire, at its root, is a gift from God. The longing of the human soul for God is shown to be the deepest desire, and the desire that orders all the rest.

We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:22-23

 And it is God's desire for us that is the foundation of covenant and cross:

It was I [God] who taught Ephraim [a name for God's people] to walk,

    who took them in my arms;

    but they did not know that I cared for them.

I drew them with human cords,

    with bands of love;

I fostered them like those

    who raise an infant to their cheeks;

I bent down to feed them.    Hosea 11:3-4

Indeed, the holy longing of human intimacy is the image of God's longing for us. Deep longing is the core of Love Himself, as in the Song of Songs:

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; For Love is strong as Death, longing is fierce as Sheol. Its arrows are arrows of fire, flames of the divine.  SS 8:6

A new edition of Philip Sheldrake's book explores these ideas in depth:

Befriending Our Desires, Third Edition
Philip Sheldrake, Liturgical Press

The power of desire, while embodied and sensuous, is God-given and the key to all human spirituality. Drawing on Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, Christian spiritual classics (with some reference to Buddhist spirituality), poetry, and other literature, plus personal and pastoral experience, Philip Sheldrake explores the role of desire in relation to God, prayer, sexuality, making choices, and responding to change.