Human beings are wicked and wonderful creatures! (Just for the record, what follows in this TFTD isn't just about 'others' for I most certainly share this trait of duplicity, too.) People confound me, in ways good and bad. Over and over, just when I thought I knew who someone was, they did something that amazed or disappointed me - acting in a way that was totally out of sync with who I thought they were. For example, the most loving individual, who gives of herself unselfishly, will make a most hurtful statement revealing a deep streak of selfishness. A person who appears to be completely self-absorbed and incapable of caring for someone else, will make a costly and generous gift of himself.
I will confess to a certain level of credulity in this area of life. I want to believe that the people I meet are who they appear to be! I want so badly to think that everyone who claims to love Jesus is really intent on following His ways. I want to think that all Believers live in a way that puts the work of God and the good of the Church over their own agenda. And... time and again, I am disappointed by people whose actions, despite the profession of best intents, reveal that they are guided by baser motives. Lest I seem overly negative, let me note that I've been equally amazed by the discovery of a genuine heart that hungers for God hidden under layers of habits of what I would consider 'sinful' behavior!
How do we account for this? Jeremiah wasn't very complimentary about human nature. He observed, [17:9 MSG] “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out." Paul admits that he was a person torn between righteousness and wickedness! Who among us cannot identify with the angst in his words? He admits, "It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me." {Romans 7:21-23 NLT}
We cannot trust our hearts! We are fools to put much stock in all of our best intentions. "But, Jerry" you may object, "that is such a terrible view of human nature!" The inescapable conclusion I draw from the Scripture is that in every saint, there is a sinner that is struggling to express dominance. It helps to account for the lapses into sin that we observe in the lives of Believers. The most loving husband may fall prey to a wandering eye. The most devoted mother can become a cruel antagonist to one of her children. The most selfless Pastor may become a self-serving manipulator of those who trust him as their shepherd!
-- IF they look to their own inner strength to protect them from the temptations of the world, the flesh (sinful nature), and the Devil.
Paul, after spilling out the ugly confession of the duplicity of his heart, goes on to tell what makes a holy life of integrity possible -- the intervention of the Savior and a life intimately lived in the Spirit's power. He writes, "Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death." [Romans 7:25-8:2 NLT]
This is the miracle of the Christian life! Spiritual transformation is not the result of religious acts or harsh and punitive deprivations. We are changed by entering the Presence of the Holy One, allowing Him to change us from the inside out. To be sure, we are cooperative in the process. By faith, we practice the spiritual disciplines that are a part of the Christian life, not because they earn us the approval of God, but rather that they create conduits for the Spirit's life to course through our lives. Regular intake of Bible truth, consistent times of meditation and worship, faithfully gathering with other Believers for corporate worship, giving of our time and resources, and confession are among those choices we make that allows the work of the renovation of the heart to proceed. (thanks to Dallas Willard for that great phrase!)
Are you disappointed in yourself or another today? Are you ready to condemn that person as inferior or terrible? Are you ready to crawl into a place of personal shame, feeling the awful ache of condemnation? Don't! There is no solution in that response to your sin or the sins of others. Instead, look to the Spirit, invite Him into the situation. Let Him reveal the sin that is causing the dysfunction. And pray earnestly that Jesus Christ will come with the power to defeat the world systems, the seductions of the sinful nature, and the deceptions of the Devil. Rest, don't wrestle!
For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Life and Light. Only God can grant us the life of His Holy Spirit that consistently defeats sin that seeks to dominate us. So, since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Gal. 5:25 NIV)
_____________________________
Change my heart, oh God,
Make it ever true.
Change my heart, oh God,
May I be like You.
You are the potter,
I am the clay.
Mold me and make me,
This is what I pray.
Change my heart, oh God,
Make it ever true.
Change my heart, oh God,
May I be like You.
© 1982 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Music Services) CCLI License No. 810055
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