Done With That by Bob Merritt

Done With That by Bob Merritt

Author:Bob Merritt [Merritt, Bob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL012070 Religion / Christian Life / Personal Growth
Publisher: David C Cook


A DIFFERENT PATH

If you’re not a Christian and the list of sins in Galatians 5:19–21 is just how you roll, you probably don’t feel much guilt over it at all. Because that’s your lifestyle. Although it may be hurting your relationships, career, and future, it doesn’t really bother you. You’ve gotten kind of used to it and numb to the old life.

On the other hand, if you are a Christ follower and say, “I want to be a Christian and be good with God. But I also want to be selfish, greedy, lustful, indulgent, and party with whomever I want,” you just became the most miserable person on the planet. Because as much as we wish what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, it doesn’t. It follows us home. The gambling, partying, and cheating follow you all the way to the front door in the form of financial and relational loss, and the guilt can never be kicked.

When Laurie and I choose a route void of grapefruit trees, there’s no tension because the temptation is removed. We walk along the path and simply enjoy each other because the trees don’t torture me. I don’t have to control my desire. In fact, I don’t even think about grapefruit because I’ve distanced myself from it.

So if your weakness is overspending, overdrinking, or pornography, the closer you get to your source of temptation, the more frustrated you’ll become. If you can still see it and smell it, the air will always be thick with tension. And while you’re trying not to succumb to the temptation, peace will always evade you. That’s because it takes so much effort and willpower to live in the middle, just one step away from grabbing the grapefruit. It’s better to choose a different route altogether where you’re not constantly frustrated by what you can’t have and what you really don’t want.

Which means it’s one or the other. You have to choose between sin and death and life and peace. The Bible says, “Don’t you know that … you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16).

Paul used the slavery analogy because whichever path we choose—sin and death or obedience and life—will control our lives. But notice we have only two options: being a slave to sin and death and being a slave to obedience and life. We may think there’s a happy middle, we may wish for a little bit of both, but it’s one or the other. There’s no middle ground here.

So let’s pause and say you’ve decided to follow the path of life. That means you’ll be a slave to obedience. You’re bound and devoted to God. Doesn’t that sound exciting? No. It sounds like a real drag. Paul wasn’t commenting on the morality of physical slavery. He was simply acknowledging the reality that our souls are inherently bound to something, one way or another, and was encouraging us to choose God as our master.



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