Look Up

Teaching my girls to drive I have to remind them to look up. Too often they get preoccupied with the speedometer, cruise control, mirrors, or other things inside the car. Invariably this causes the car to start drifting out of its lane. I have to remind them to look up. Their attention needs to be primarily on the road ahead. They can glance briefly at other things, but they can't take their eyes off the road ahead for very long.

I think we can learn a valuable spiritual lesson from that. We have many day-to-day concerns and activities that can distract us. There are many joys of life that can capture our attention. We can begin to focus on our lives here-and-now. And I'm not even talking about sinful things, just things that are temporal, physical. Spiritually we can become distracted, take our eyes off of the road ahead and even forget where we are trying to go.

In 2 Peter 1:2-9 the apostle exhorts his readers to give diligence to growing in the faith. He lists virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love as character traits we are to be adding to our faith. In verse 9 he says,

For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 2 Peter 2:9

Peter said that those who lacked the virtues he had listed were short-sighted, even to the point of blindness. Such a man has lost sight of his goal. Having "received great and precious promises" and having "escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (v 4) he isn't giving diligence to "make [his] calling and election sure" (v 10). He has forgotten he was cleansed of his old sins (v 8). He is ignoring the warning in Hebrews 2:3, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?"

In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Paul says that the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal. Spiritually we need to see through the physical to the eternal. We need to keep our eyes on the eternal goal and on the path God has laid out for us to follow. We can afford an occasional glance at the scenery of the journey, but we can't afford to take our eyes off our road for long.

-PG

Double minds

What do you want to do? On the surface that is a straightforward question and ought to have a straightforward answer. But when we start to dig into it we realize that the answer isn't always simple.
If I ask my wife if she wants a piece of cake, she might answer, "Yes and no". Yes, I'd love to enjoy the sugary, creamy, fattening goodness of that piece of cake. But, no, I don't want one because I'm trying to control my weight. Similarly, someone might ask me, "Do you want to lose 10 pounds?" I'd answer "sure", but my actions indicate that I'm not willing to make the sacrifice necessary to make it happen. I want both, but I can't have them both. I have a double-mind.

We understand the struggle of being double-minded. On the one hand we want some long-term objective. On the other hand we want some short-term, immediate satisfaction. Do I take immediate gratification now, or do I defer that gratification to achieve a longer-term goal?

In many respects the struggle between the flesh and the spirit is similar to this struggle between immediate and long-term physical gratification. The flesh, this body, desires things. Many of these desires have wholesome means of satisfaction, but the body doesn't really care. The flesh just desires satisfaction, regardless of how it comes. If we are ruled by this carnal, this fleshly body, if our mind is a carnal mind, then we will live "according to the flesh" (Romans 8:13) and we will die. "For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption" (Galatians 6:8). A carnal mind is selfish, self-willed, and uncontrolled.

One who is led by the spirit seeks different goals. The spiritual mind seeks to please God, to be morally pure, to love and to serve others. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). The spiritual mind is in submission to God. The spiritual man sees beyond the immediate pleasures of life to the goal of eternal life with God.

The fruits of the Spirit are almost universally acknowledged as good, yet too often we see instead hatred, anger, sadness, strife, impatience, cruelty, and selfishness. Surely we realize that these behaviors won't lead to happiness. "The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish" (Galatians 5:17). We are double-minded. We know what is good, but we give in to what gives our flesh immediate satisfaction.

"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ..., envy, murders, drunkeness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21).

Let us, therefore, live according to the Spirit, keeping our eyes on the eternal prize.

-PG

Knowledge Puffs Up, But Love Edifies

The scriptures clearly teach that knowledge is vitally important for our spiritual survival. Hosea 4:6 says of rebellious Israel,

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being priest to Me. Since you have forgotten the Law of your God, I will also forget your sons, even I."

We must know and understand God's will. Many have been and will be destroyed because of a lack of knowledge.

However, with knowledge comes a peculiar temptation -- pride. There is a natural temptation for those that have gained some level of knowledge of the scriptures to be critical of those that have not. Those that have their "senses trained to discern both good and evil" can become frustrated with the worldliness of others less attuned to the principles of God's word. Righteous indignation directed toward sinful practices can easily turn to contempt for those still struggling to free themselves from such practices. 1 Corinthians 8:1 states it very concisely,

"Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies"

Knowledge and understanding has a way of "puffing up" -- of exalting the spirit and creating a prideful attitude. Knowledge must be tempered with love.

I think we can easily mistake knowledge for spiritual maturity. We can think we are "spiritually mature" if we have a thorough understanding of scripture and we abstain from a particular set of worldly practices. Spiritual maturity is much more than that. It also includes embracing the principle of love and forbearance. When we fail to understand this we are in danger of becoming like the Pharisees who "trusted in themselves and despised others".

In the context of 1 Corinthians 8 Paul was addressing the problem of eating meat that had been part of an idolatrous sacrifice. In principle there was no problem with buying and eating such meat. However, some of the "weaker" brethren didn't understand that. Eating such meat would violate their consciences and seeing other Christians do it was a stumbling block to them. Even worse, some might be emboldened to participate in idol worship after seeing the example of their "stronger" brethren.

Paul's teaching here is clear. The strong often need to yield to the weak. They need to forbear and sacrifice lest they cause others to stumble. We all need to have patience with one another. Not everyone has the same knowledge, the same understanding, the same level of maturity. We have to allow for these differences as we all grow up in Christ.

--PG