Why we Misbehave

Every misbehavior arises from a legitimate impulse – we desire something that is really good and desirable. The error is not in our desire, but in its corruption, either because we seek a wrong ultimate end or because we use the wrong means to a right end.

My will is bewildered by too many objects and anxieties. Simplify me, oh my God.

We can desire three kinds of things because there are three kinds of things: uncreated things (God, honor, life, virtue, etc.), created things (man, the cosmos), or corruptions of created or uncreated things (lust, envy, shame, etc.).

Or can we desire the third. I don’t think we desire them; they are instead expressions we use for disordered desires.

We need to remember this when we discipline others or seek to grow ourselves.

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