subject: Slaves to Sin [print this page] Slaves to Sin Slaves to Sin
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Huh?? Yeah. I knowhad to read it several times myself, talk to my spiritual advisor and even break out the good ole' study bible and the online bibles so I could read a couple other versions. Let me decipher how I interpret this:
First, recall that the flesh and the spirit are in constant battle. ("For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." ~ Galatians 5:17) Sin comes from flesh, not our spirit. Our spirit is what knows what is right and good. When the author first talks about nothing good living in him, he means the sin of the flesh. (But God lives in each of us so there is something good, very good. The spirit. We just need to listen to it more. And I think that is the point.) The author is saying he's human too. He understands how hard it is. He's saying we want to do what is right, we want to make God proud, but we don't. We excuse it, justify it, or even ignore it because the enjoyment is too cotton-pickin' alluring. And I don' think he's saying that we have no control, I think he feels that we all feel that way sometimes. Change is hard and changing behaviors that we've become so accustom to over time, even when they are harmful to us, is extremely hard. We have to realize that we allow the flesh to win and it's the flesh that we have to overcome.
I love the saying "if you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting." It's just a matter of retraining ourselves: being our own parent' of sorts. Better yet, we need to remember God is our Father. He's already told us what is right and wrong. He's not standing over us harping, nagging, asking why the heck we keep screwing up and not listening to Him. There truly is a battle going on. We're not crazy.
