“Doing what you want” is the definition of freedom in the dictionary. The problem is that when we pursue complete liberty and the pursuit of our desires, it does not lead to happiness or to love. The correct order is for the mind to direct the will to achieve certain desires. When we allow desire to direct the will, it causes problems. Our view of reality becomes distorted by our drive to pursue our passions. Because desire is not self-limiting and it has no satisfaction in itself, it only leads to the perversion of truth.
Today much of Western society rejects truth and what is good in order to pursue desire. This is our current environment, like the air that we breath. This has resulted in an unhealthy understanding of love. What is love? To love someone you will (want) what is good for them. That is the meaning of “benevolence” (Latin word meaning good will) and very different from love we see in movies. True self-love is willing what is good for yourself. Oddly enough, this can be in conflict with the pursuit of your desires. We can all desire and pursue things that are not good for ourselves. That leads to regret. We have all experienced this process and that result.
At a macro level the pursuit of moral freedom pervades society causing it to reject truth when it comes in conflict with personal desires and the freedom to express them. Because of our pursuit of liberty we have even forgotten our human nature.
Nature puts a limit on what you can do. For example the nature of a tree is to have roots and grow. The nature of a bird (most birds) is to fly. Trees don’t fly, by nature. You can not plant a bird and expect it to grow. Human nature also introduces limitations, but we have chosen to ignore them, to our peril. Some have realized that the real limits to human progress are not external and related to science and technology but internal, morality and our capacity for love and compassion. (Ephesians 4:17-24) (Romans 1:28-32)
How do we increase our capacity for real love?
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