James Throws a Curve Ball

...but each person is tempted 

when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  

Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; 

and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death.

^{James 1:14-15 NIV}

...but each man is tempted when he is drawn away

by his own lust and enticed; then lust, having

conceived, brings forth sin; and sin, when it is finished,

brings forth death.

James 1:14-15 ASV

James gives a fascinating lesson in the progression or development of sin (evil) that starts out with a nicely-pitched curve ball.  Remember - verse 13 of James 1 says that God cannot be tempted of evil, and He does not tempt any man.  So, where exactly does the temptation come from?  James pins it squarely on each person - who is tempted when he is "drawn away."  Drawn away from what?  If this is speaking of a believer, which I think James is, then I am going to take a wild guess that the individual portrayed here is drawn away from God - stepping out of the light of life into the overwhelming darkness that is always found outside the boundaries of God's love.

If asked the question, "Is lust sinful?" I think most of us would say, "yes."  James does not agree.  The Greek word here translated "desire" in the NIV and "lust" in the King James and American Standard Bible is ĕpithumia, (a longing [especially for what is forbidden], desire, lust [after]).  It comes from the word ĕpithumĕō ( to set the heart upon, long for [rightfully or otherwise], covet, desire, lust [after]).  So for James, each human being allows himself to be drawn away from God by the longings and desires of his/her heart.  Note that these desires, these wishes, these feelings of setting our heart on something are not sin, but we allow them to draw our hearts away from the holiness and completeness of the presence of God.  Once we have been separated from God, our desires inflame into enticements, which lead us into sin (evil), which brings forth death.

Lucifer desired - longed for - recognition and power.  When he allowed those thoughts to separate him from God, it was only a tiny step further to decide that he wanted to be God Himself.  When Adam realized what Eve had done (eaten the fruit) and his desire for her swelled up until it blotted out the goodness and compassionate love of God, he did not have to tiptoe much further down the path to deciding to take matters into his own hands.