“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” Galatians 5:17 (NKJV)
One of life’s joys is that first cup of coffee in the morning. Groggy and not quite awake, I grabbed a granola bar, then poured my wife and our morning coffee (Hebrews). Opening the refrigerator to get the creamer, the EYES laid upon the cookies, the HAND grabbed one and shoved it into the MOUTH! All before my BRAIN had time to think about it! So there I stood… cookie breath and all… wondering what just happened!
It really ISN’T a mystery. Paul wrote this verse 2000 years ago to give a heavenly explanation to what every one of us should already know. He gave it even MORE detail in Romans 7. Humans make BAD choices… ALL the time. I listened to it at Celebrate Recovery last night as each one said, “I don’t understand why I keep doing the wrong thing!” The only surprising thing is that ALL were genuinely surprised!
NO GOOD THING LIVES IN YOUR FLESH (Romans 7:18).But that is NOT what the WORLD, the FLESH or the DEVIL says about you. The message that screams to ALL of us is, “you’re a winner, believe in yourself, you’re enough or you can do it!” And the dude with the cookie breath just refuses to smell it!
We are agathokakological beings. That means we consist of both good and evil. We aren’t BORN good and then go bad. If anything, it is the reverse. Steeped in sin, we have the natural tenancy to choose the WRONG things. ALL evidence points out that WE NEED A SAVIOR! A fact that quickly disappears with the whisper of, “Eh…I’m fine!”
If I agree with God as to my lost and dead disposition, why is it my natural inclination to defend myself? Why do I fight so hard to be right, when I know that the majority of the time my flesh is wrong? In a world of sin, why is a drink or drug chosen over responsibility? Why is it easier to take a nap then get something done? Why is it easier to quit than press on? If you’ve read this far then you already know the answer. We stink!
Sin is a stench in the nose of God. If we even had a HINT of its awful reality, we’d faint! Want a taste? Hold your hand over a candle for 1 second! THAT is a TINY taste of what the wage of sin brings. Now multiply that by a gazillion and times that by eternity! THAT is GOD’S view! THAT is what HE took to free me from it. The very LEAST I can do is see it for that it is and be prepared to pay attention… before I grab the cookie!
