Q&A: Is Despair a Form of Self-Worship?

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]I really enjoyed reading Finally Free.

[00:00:02]You mentioned slavery to pleasure, despair, and pride.

[00:00:06]Could these be correlated to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life?

[00:00:10]I can see where pleasure correlates to lust of the flesh. I can see where the elder son correlates to the pride of life.

[00:00:16]But when the prodigal son returns and despairs of the father's love, could this be the lust of the eyes, focusing our eyes on ourselves instead of Jesus?

[00:00:26]>> I think that's I you I think you could.

[00:00:28]I think that's stretching it a little bit. I think when when John talks about the those two things, the pride, sorry, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, it's probably um it's I I I I've always taken that to be sixth commandment and seventh commandment. So, and it could it could all also be sixth commandment, sixth commandment, seventh commandment. But you you know, your body wants things and your eyes desire things, so that there's he he's piling up these different ways that that lust shows up. And I think it's really important there's a couple of things just thinking about lust that's really important. Number one, normally when we hear that, we we think of sixth commandment. Um the the command you shall not commit adultery, and that lust is always connected to sexual immorality. And I think it is a lot, but there's lust that lives in every commandment. So, there's greed, which is like a seventh commandment lust.

[00:01:27]Um there's bitterness, which is like an eighth commandment lust against my neighbor's name. There's rage, which is a fifth commandment lust.

[00:01:34]Uh so that we can we can want the wrong thing in regard to every commandment.

[00:01:41]Rebellion is the fourth commandment. Uh and and really the ninth and tenth commandments, covetousness, that's the sort of baseline of of wanting the wrong stuff.

[00:01:51]It's good to especially remember that the that the Lord's law um has something to say about what we want and that we it condemns us for wanting the wrong thing.

[00:02:03]So, I really appreciate the, um, the work on trying to connect those things, but I don't think it quite lines up uh as nicely as as the email suggests, but I appreciate you reading the book and thinking about it.

[00:02:15]Hopefully, it continues to spur meditation on on the prodigal son and the these other Bible texts.

[00:02:23]>> What do you think about the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life being um, connected to Eve and Adam and Eve in the garden?

[00:02:32]>> Yeah.

[00:02:33]>> Right. Uh, she saw, she desired.

[00:02:36]Right. Um, >> She wanted to be like God.

[00:02:39]>> Yeah, both of them like falling into that trap. I'm wondering if that's somewhat behind that text, too.

[00:02:45]>> Yeah.

[00:02:46]>> I haven't given it much thought.

[00:02:47]As we're going over it, it seemed like that might be connected in some way. So, All right, that was a That was an easy one for you.

[00:02:56]>> Hey, YouTube theologians, this Q&A is brought to you by Rome Examined. I mean, not really. I'm just advertising it, but it's it's free. wolfmueller.co/rome.

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