All Series > Well-Ordered Soul > Part 8
Disordered Passions
(Series 2, Part 8, Teaching #16)
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Disordered Passions
With a well-ordered soul, one’s intellect directs their will, which virtuously guides their passions to do God’s will—no matter the trial, temptation, feeling, or emotion they may face.
With a disordered soul, however, the reins of the will grow slack. The passions, no longer led but leading, run wild—clouding the intellect and overpowering the will. Instead of acting virtuously, one becomes ruled by impulse, emotion, and desire. They know what is right but struggle to choose it. The momentary pleasure of sin outweighs the eternal promise of virtue.
Scripture says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). But how can one prevail over evil without the strength to master their passions? When the soul is not rooted in virtue, the mind lacks clarity, and the will lacks strength—making sin not only likely, but easy. Hence, it is said, “The good man, though a slave, is free; the wicked, though he reigns, is a slave, and not the slave of a single man, but—what is worse—the slave of as many masters as he has vices” (St. Augustine).
Yet when one’s purpose in life is to seek to glorify God in all they do by pursuing a virtuous life, the soul becomes rightly ordered. They begin to love what is good and fitting—prayer, service, moderation, sacrifice. And as that love grows, so too does their desire for the things of God. Conversely, the one with disordered passions begins to hate and avoid those very same things. They desire comfort over calling, indulgence over discipline, and self-will over God’s will.
It is said, “Life is neither good nor evil, but only a place for good and evil” (Marcus Aurelius). In other words, your life is not the final outcome—it is the battleground. The passions are your horses, and the reins are in your hands. Let vice take the reins, and you will chase what destroys you. But let virtue take the reins, and you will chase what sanctifies you.
Through the daily practice and pursuit of virtue, you learn to harness the powerful horses of your passions—not to suppress them, but to steer them with wisdom, strength, and self-mastery. Then, even in the midst of trial or temptation, your passions become fuel for the fight—a fight not for yourself, but for Christ.
“May God grant us a desire for God that supersedes all other desires” (A.W. Tozer). This is how a warrior of God prevails: not by silencing the soul, but by ordering it rightly through grace—directing every passion toward the good.
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Resources
Visual Resource
Illustration highlighting how disordered passions lead to vice and ordered passions lead to virtue.
Free Lesson Plan
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Related Scripture
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” — Romans 12:21 (NRSVue)
“Do not fall into the grip of passion, or you may be torn apart as by a bull." — Sirach 6:2 (NRSVue)
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” — Isaiah 5:20 (NRSVue)
“For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world.” — 1 John 2:16 (NABRE)
“Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.” — 1 Peter 5:8 (NRSVue)
“They said to you, ‘When the last days come, people will appear who will make fun of you, people who follow their own godless desires.’” — Jude 1:18 (GNT)
“Refrain from every kind of evil.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (NABRE)
“You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” — James 4:3 (NABRE)
“Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil.” — James 3:16 (GNT)
“You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry).” — Colossians 3:5 (GNT)
“For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.” — Romans 7:5 (NRSVue)
“All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, doing the will of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else.” — Ephesians 2:3 (NRSVue)
“Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.’” — John 8:34 (NRSVue)
“And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” — Galatians 5:24 (NRSVue)
“Where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you. You want things, but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill; you strongly desire things, but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it. And when you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives are bad; you ask for things to use for your own pleasures.” — James 4:1-3 (GNT)
“Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully!” — Matthew 5:6 (GNT)
“Seek good and not evil, that you may live, and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.” — Amos 5:14-15 (NRSVue)
Related Quotes
“The good man, though a slave, is free; the wicked, though he reigns, is a slave, and not the slave of a single man, but- what is worse - the slave of as many masters as he has vices.” — St. Augustine
“Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil.” ― Marcus Aurelius
"May God grant us a desire for God that supersedes all other desires." — A.W. Tozer
“Bad people...are in conflict with themselves; they desire one thing and will another, like the incontinent who choose harmful pleasures instead of what they themselves believe to be good.” — Aristotle
“All badness is spoiled goodness. A bad apple is a good apple that became rotten. Because evil has no capital of its own, it is a parasite that feeds on goodness.” — Ven. Fulton J. Sheen
“For he who lives as passion directs will not hear argument that dissuades him, nor understand it if he does; and how can we persuade one in such a state to change his ways?” — Aristotle
“Discordance is evil. Harmony is virtue.” — Plato
“Even those who have the weakest souls could acquire absolute mastery over all their passions if we employed sufficient ingenuity in training and guiding them.” — Rene Descartes
“Education is teaching our children to desire the right things.” — Plato
“The things that we love tell us what we are.” — St. Thomas Aquinas
“To enjoy the things we ought and to hate the things we ought has the greatest bearing on excellence of character.” — Aristotle
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