Inordinate affection is an unhealthy and obsessive attachment to a person or thing that manifests through uncontrollable love. The term is not widely used in our vocabulary, but it is used in the Bible to highlight an unbalanced, "over the top" affection or love we might have for anything or person that we give first place to before God. In the King James Version, the word that is used synonymously with evil desire and lust is "inordinate affection". The word "inordinate" implies excessive, unnatural without limitation. An inordinate affection promotes isolation and secrecy, and it can become as much an idol as anything else that takes the Lords first place. People may even say to you that the way you love that person is scary.

To mortify inordinate affection, one needs to put everything about themselves under the subjection of the Holy Spirit. All of our relationships should be tempered by our love for God, and when we place Him first in our life, everything else falls into place. It is possible that looking back on our past, we realize there were relationships where we had an inordinate affection.

Inordinate affection means that emotionally, sexually, or physically, we are allowing others to have control over us. It is not helpful to another person as it is unbalanced and only produces more chaos. It can become as much an idol as anything else that takes the Lords first place.

Before conversion, inordinate affection may be something gross, evil, sensual pleasures, dishonest practices, unscrupulous ambition. After conversion, it certainly cannot be these, for he that is born of God does not keep sinning. But there may still be an "inordinate affection" for something innocent in itself, something which is useful, helpful, uplifting if retained in the circumference of the affections, but a destructive idol if in the center.

The 6th cause of inordinate affections is carelessness and remissness, that is, want of spiritual watchfulness over the heart, when men rather give occasion... .