Our Human Desires.
This morning I began reading a book by Jerry Bridges called Respectable Sins. My parents read it in the fall and spoke highly of it, inspiring me to read it. Though they also said it was ridiculously challenging as it calls its readers to confront the sins we frequently tolerate in Christian circles. The portion of the first chapter reminded me of a conversation I had with someone recently about our human desires being significantly different than what God calls us to live out daily. Bridges points to Galatians 5:17 as scripture that describes the guerrilla warfare between the flesh and the spirit – a fight that we have to face in our hearts every single day. I like that entire section of Galatians 5:16-26.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Sprit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
In this scripture, Paul essentially defines the works of the flesh (v. 19-21) and the works of the spirit (v. 22-23). I wonder if this is where we are to begin discerning our different desires. Understanding the identified works of the flesh – granted there are a million other ones that aren’t mentioned – and recognizing how these desires and actions have become a part of our daily lives. Upon knowing these temptations, consciously choosing to live out those mentioned in verses 22 and 23 – the fruit of the spirit. I don’t think it’s something that we can change overnight… I actually don’t think we will ever fully be disengaged from the sins of the flesh. But I do believe that we can work hard at knowing our motivations and the sins of our flesh – and choose to live out the fruit of the spirit. Paul writes in verse 25: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Sprit.” I think Paul is saying that if we’re living by the spirit in our hearts, it will be reflected in how we walk – in the daily choices we make.
So what does it take to make these changes in our lives? Accountability with others. Honesty with ourselves. A desire to change – not just for ourselves, but for the Lord. I believe this type of change is an outpouring of the love we have for God. If we simply have a list of things we have to do and we check them off, there is no depth of meaning there and we will likely resort to living for ourselves once again… and the list will be set aside. The motivation isn’t quite right. But perhaps it is a starting point for some. As they seek to understand God’s love more, that motivation to do the right thing might change from a check-list of actions to a deep desire to serve and honor the Lord because of a newfound understanding of what He’s done in our own lives. Maybe these can happen simultaneously. I don’t know. But I do know that sometimes we have to address our actions while at the same time intentionally seeking to change our hearts.
