Greed

When I consider the fleshly temptations that we pursue in this brief and simple life, I can only identify a few that dominate us. Each of them are temptations common to mankind, and it only takes a few years after we’ve been born to become susceptible to them. They include power, drugs, sex, fame and money. In the American culture, I would argue that out of these, the most chased after is money because money, though it is a pursuit unto itself, is also a gateway into these other fleshly pursuits. The Bible has much to say about the sinful pursuits common to mankind. And as a human species, it can be difficult to look beyond these desires; to understand the kind of hold they may have on us. And even if we become aware they are still very difficult to shake or abandon. But Jesus said this about money in Luke, chapter 12, verse 15: 

“Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’” 

Sinful pursuits are deceiving. We believe that if we acquire our fill of power, drugs, sex, fame or money we will be satisfied; that our hearts will be content. But the Bible, as well as life, teaches us otherwise. A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions, yet, we pursue them nonetheless. We pursue them to our detriment. And like anything we choose to indulge in, with healthy moderation and with godly constraints, they can be permissive. They can even be good. Power can be good if it is used to serve. Drugs can be good if they are used to heal. Sex can be good if practiced within the confines of marriage. Fame can be good when it is encouraging to our self-esteem and doesn’t elevate itself to pride. And money can be good when it is something we use, not something we pursue. Jesus tells us to be on guard against all kinds of greed. I believe he says this because he knows the hearts of men, and he knows how we can allow things like greed to rule over us. So I would encourage you, as I encourage myself, to pursue those things that will last; to pursue what is good; to pursue what Jesus pursued, which is our God and the life that follows this one.

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In Luke, Jesus said that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”. If not, then what does a man’s life consist of? Righteous pursuits are love, sacrifice, service, and selflessness to name a few. And when these righteous pursuits are chased through the filter of our faith in Christ, they are amplified and are able to garnish treasures in heaven; treasures that will last for eternity. Why would we want to pursue that which is temporal when we can pursue that which is eternal? The pursuits of the flesh are enticing. They are tempting and will ultimately lead to destruction because they are sinful. Jesus said: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Now that we have been warned, we need to pursue that which leads to life… life eternal.

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Duty Fulfilled

Part of being human is that we make mistakes, we can get tired and lazy, and sometimes we start things without finishing them. But when it comes to our dedication to the Lord, we should exert extra effort and diligence, making sure that we don’t drop the ball. It would be nice if every believer, regardless of how long we’ve have walked with Christ, could look back on our life and say that we’ve done everything we could to fulfill our duty of following Christ, being an ambassador for him and being a good neighbor to our fellow man. It would be wonderful if we could say that we’ve made the most of every opportunity and that we didn’t shrink back when he asked us to do something difficult. I suspect that some of us can, but most of us can’t. Not if we’re being honest with ourselves. But Paul could. It says in Acts, chapter 23, verse 1: 

“Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, ‘My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.’” 

Have you fulfilled your duty to God in all good conscience? What is your duty? What has God called you to do? If you are unsure, I would encourage you to familiarize yourself with the scriptures to understand his hearts desire and to pray that the Holy Spirit reveal his calling for your life. Though we are all believers, none of our paths are identical. God may be calling you to do something different than what he is calling me to do. But the point is to obey; to fulfill our duty to God. When Jesus walked the earth, he came to serve, not to be served. And if he is a model for us, then we should have that same mentality. Jesus said that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourself. What does that look like for you? Are you doing it? Paul said to the Sanhedrin that he has fulfilled his duty to God in all good conscience to this day. Even if you and I aren’t able to declare that today, maybe we can make it our goal for tomorrow, and the future to come.

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Have you fulfilled your duty to God in all good conscience to this day? If not, I would encourage you to be about it; to purpose in your heart to pursue it. To some, that might mean that we need to pray to God and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal his plan for our life. To others, it might mean that we are to take meaningful steps toward accomplishing what God is calling us to do. And yet, for others, it may mean that we are to step out of our comfort zone in faith in order to fulfill our duty. Wherever you are in the plan God has for you, it is my prayer for you, and for myself, that we will be able to say that we have fulfilled our duty to God in all good conscience to this day.

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Pattern of Teaching

Humans are creatures of habit. As for myself, every morning I follow the same routine in preparing to go to work. Then, I drive the same route to get to work, and once I arrive I go through a sequence of hanging my coat, putting my lunch in the refrigerator and turning on my computer before getting a glass of water. The pattern of behavior that I’ve built over the years I do without much thought. It is as if I’ve taught myself how to behave through the routines that I’ve established. We all have patterns and routines; sets of habitual behaviors that we do almost without thinking. Some of them are good, and some are not. Obedience to God can also become a pattern; a pattern that we can teach ourselves in an effort to daily reflect our allegiance to the Lord. Paul says in Romans, chapter 6, verse 17: 

“But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.” 

Obedience is a pattern of behavior based on a pattern of teaching. Later, Paul reminds us the we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness. Are you teaching yourself to follow a pattern of slavey to righteousness? The term “slavey” may sound unsettling to modern-day Americans, but it was a common and accepted practice in Bible times. To us, slavery connotes an unwilling, or forced, servitude. But in this context, I believe it is more of a willing dedication; a heartfelt submission; a love for the one we serve. So, if we are no longer willingly dedicated to sin, but have now submitted ourselves to righteousness, and continue to follow that pattern on a daily basis, there should come a time when our walk becomes a pattern or even a routine. We may begin to daily wake up with Christ on our minds, pray before we get out of bed, look for opportunities to serve others and read our Bible before we settle in for the night all without thinking. That is the kind of pattern I hope we all adopt.

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What patterns have you formed in life? Some may be good, others neutral, and yet others evil. It should be our desire, as followers of Christ, to pattern our lives after him. I encourage you to read the gospels, the first four books of the New Testament, to see how Jesus lived and adopt his patterns and routines to your life. We should all take stock of our lives, examining our daily walk, and determining whether what we do, and how we behave without thinking, should be adjusted or maintained. Once we integrate a pattern of righteousness, we may be able to attest to the words Paul used when addressing the Romans; that we have come to obey from our heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed our allegiance.

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Grace Outpaces Sin

When Jesus came to earth to live for us, die for us and to be raised from the dead he impressed on the lives of every believer the power of his salvation. That is why we remember him often through the taking of communion and that is why we celebrate his love for us every year on Easter. But I would argue that his sacrifice did much more than what we see on the surface. If granting us eternal life through himself wasn’t enough, he set in place a new law of understanding. He set in place a paradigm of where sin increases, grace increases all the more. He put in motion the truth that through him, grace will always outpace sin. Paul says this in Romans, chapter 5, verses 20 and 21: 

“The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” 

Through Jesus grace reigns. We did nothing to deserve his grace or his mercy. On the contrary, we deserve his wrath and his judgment. The Bible reminds us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That is the love of our God. And not only do we receive his grace, but through Jesus we are made righteous. We are made right before God, where we were once separated from him. And as we continue to fall short, it is comforting to know that there is, and always will be, enough grace to cover us all.

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Paul said “where sin increased, grace increased all the more”. Isn’t it comforting to know that there will always be enough grace to cover our sin; that grace will always outpace our sin? It’s kind of like having more than enough money to pay for a life saving operation. Wouldn’t it be nice to say to the surgeon, “money isn’t an object. Spare no expense in saving my life”? That is what Jesus did for us. He spared nothing and provided us with more than enough grace to cover our sins. If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to bend a knee to our Lord and Savior today and thank him for what he did for us. He did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves, and he did it overwhelmingly. Even now, where our sin abounds, grace much more abounds. And if you are one who hasn’t accepted what Jesus did on the cross, know that his grace is available for you. His death and resurrection can put you in right relationship with God so that when you die, God will not see your sin, he’ll only see the righteousness of his Son. Then, you too will be admitted into heaven - not because of what you did, but only because of what Jesus did.

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Where Is My Mind?

I really like the secular song, “Where Is My Mind?” from the soundtrack of the movie, “Sucker Punch”. It has a soft sensical melody with lyrics that are unusually intriguing. But the question the artist asks himself throughout the song is “where is my mind?” This is a question that I think believers should pause to consider often. We need to consider what we have our minds set on; is it set on what our sinful nature desires, or is it on what the Spirit desires? The Bible is clear that we are all subject to falling to our sinful nature, but that doesn’t mean that we have our minds set on living according to it. We all can choose to have our minds set on what the Spirit desires; we can choose to allow our minds to be controlled by the Spirit. Paul writes these words in Romans, chapter 8, verses 5 through 9 which says: 

“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of the sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” 

How are you living? Where is your mind? Paul says that “those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” What controls you? I would encourage you to live in accordance with the Spirit; to have your mind set on what the Spirit desires. It is ultimately our choice. Yes, our sinful nature can be enticing, it can draw us away, and it can even cause us to stumble, but that doesn’t mean we are controlled by it. We can choose to set our minds on what the Spirit desires. We can choose to live in accordance with the Spirit. And we can ultimately allow our minds to be controlled by the Spirit. When we do, we will find life and peace. We will be in step with God - not hostile toward him. Our minds are affected and influenced by what we allow into them. So I would challenge you, as I challenge myself, to continue to feed our minds that which helps us in our walk and that which brings us in closer relationship with the Father. It is ultimately a choice, and it begins with determining where we will set our minds.

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Where is your mind today? How are you living? Might I encourage you to live in accordance with the Spirit and to have your mind set on what the Spirit desires? If we are able to do this it would mean that we are submitting to God’s law; that we would agree and obey his word. And to obey his word, implies that we need to know his word. Our minds control so much of who we are. What we fill it with can encourage us toward a deeper relationship with Christ, or it can draw us away from him. It is my prayer for you and me that every morning we consciously, and purposefully, set our minds on what the Spirit desires. Every believer has the Spirit of God leaving inside of us. So we shouldn’t have to look far to find him. Let him guide you, let him speak to your heart, and let him teach you what he desires.

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