Stay Focused

The verse for 7/15 is from Romans 7:15, "I do not understand what I do; for I don't do what I would like to do, but instead I do what I hate."  GNT

I think most of us can relate to this verse.  Our sinful natures seem to go into auto pilot sometimes.  Even when we know that we want to do good, we aren't always able to follow through.  Things like selfishness, greed, jealosy, gossip...any number of sins, can quickly take us down a path we never intended to go.  I think the struggle between our spirit and our flesh is a battle that was waged when Adam and Eve gave in to the temptation of sin.  They couldn't resist.  So often, neither can we.  We come from a long line of self indulgent humans.

Another verse in the bible that refers to the ongoing struggle we have with our sinful nature is Galations 5:17, "For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do."  GNT

Bottom line, God gave us free will.  I often say it is one of our greatest gifts, but it can also be one of our biggest curses.  I sometimes wonder why God allowed us so much freedom to make our own choices.  Didn't He know we would just make a royal mess of things?  I'm sure He did, but in His grace, He wants our choices to be just that...our choices.  He wants our devotion toward Him to be voluntary.  He wants us to make decisions and do things out of sincere love for Him.  How do we do that?  Maybe it takes a lot of practice.  Maybe it's a lot of trial and error.  Yes, it's definitely a lot of error!  Maybe we should just consult Him more often, before we act.  Now that's a thought!

Even though we will always have the struggle between right and wrong, and good and evil, I think there is something we can do to try to curb our sinful behavior.  We can change our focus.  If we are looking at something from a perspective of what will please us, we are most often being selfish.  When we are able to put our focus on Jesus and surrender our will to His, we are more likely to defeat our sinful nature.  As in everything else, the choice is ours.  Let's hope we can learn to make the right choices more and more as we keep our focus on Jesus.