Lie: I Want to Do This (So I Should)

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Have you ever noticed how quickly a desire turns into a justification?

That looks good—so I should eat it.
That sounds fun—so I should do it.
I feel like it—so why not?

This lie shows up everywhere, especially in the habits we struggle with: overeating, overspending, over-scrolling, overworking… basically anything where desire takes the wheel and drives us somewhere we later regret.

Often people tell me, “I don’t know what I’m thinking. I can’t pinpoint the lie I’m believing.” This makes it hard to truth journal because we need to begin with a lie if we want to put the truth to it.

In today’s Christian Habits Podcast episode, I cover a lie you can always use to truth journal whenever you feel like breaking your boundaries with a habit: I want to do this, so I should.

At its core, this lie is about desire: we want something. When we believe this lie, we assume that desire equals permission.

But desire isn’t a good decision-maker.

Where the Lie Comes From

Culture constantly tells us: Follow your heart. You deserve it. Live your truth. And while that might work when our desires are healthy, it’s a terrible strategy when our desires lead us toward sin, addiction, struggles with our health and finances, relationship problems, and regret.

God never designed desire to be our leader. He designed it to be something we steward.

A Better Way to Live

Romans 13:14 gives us a completely different approach:

“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lusts.”

That means:

1. Put on Christ
Talk to Him. Ask for help. Sit with Him instead of your temptation.

2. Make no provision for the flesh
In today’s words: Make your habit hard to do, and obedience easy to do.

Ask yourself:

• When am I most tempted?

• How can I create roadblocks that make indulging difficult?

• Where can I move, limit, or remove access to the habit?

For example: If your phone derails your day, stop keeping it nearby. No social media before a certain time. Put it in another room during work hours.

Small barriers create big freedom.

Renewing Your Mind

Here are a few truths you can use when you’re truth journaling today’s lie:

• Just because I want something doesn’t mean I should do it.

• My life is better when I live by design, not desire.

• One little indulgence isn’t harmless—it reinforces the idea that I have no boundaries.

• If I did everything I felt like doing, my life would be a mess.

• God’s desires for me lead to joy, health, and freedom.

Transformation doesn’t happen by willpower. It happens by renewing your mind—catching the lie, replacing it with truth, and practicing that truth one decision at a time.

And over time?

Desire stops driving the car. Wisdom does. Truth does. Faith does. God does.

And that is when real change begins.

🎧 Listen to the full episode on the Christian Habits Podcast! I’ll give you a chance to renew your mind and go more in depth on the topic. I also share three of my own journal entries on this lie – dating back to 2006!

Resources Mentioned on the Podcast

• Indulgence questions from the Stopping a Habit section of the Renewing of the Mind Project

How to Listen to the Podcast (Christian Habits)

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