A Time To Kill Yourself
Galatians 5:16-25
The influence of some tainted rap songs reared its angry head when I heard my little cousin laughingly say to her friend who was jokingly hating on her, “Kill yourself!” Much to my dismay and confusion, they both started to laugh uncontrollably. The notion had become nothing more than a harmless, and sadly, accepted colloquialism in everyday interchanges.
Unfortunate, I know. But the more I thought on it, the more theologically sound the concept seemed. Oftentimes, our prevailing thoughts are ones that don’t align with the word of God. Too many times, we say and do things we shouldn’t. We forget that our responsibility to God’s “do’s” is as important as our obligation to His “do not’s.” In essence, when we “hate” on ourselves, disobey God, doubt His ability to work in and through our lives, we are hindering the ability of the promised fullness and abundance of life to flow freely in our Spirit-filled walk with Christ.
Paul said in Romans 7: 11 “For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.” It seems more fitting that we should die a daily, voluntarily death to our flesh—its thoughts, actions and tendencies—rather than to have sin do the killing. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” I Peter 3:18 (KJV)
Prayer: Lord, thank you so much for your grace and mercy that covers me. Thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, who died for my sins so I would have the power to die to my flesh and to those sins that separate me from Your presence; and thus from the fullness of joy and abundant life that comes with it. Teach me how to please You, God, with my thoughts, actions and speech. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable unto you Lord, my Redeemer.
The influence of some tainted rap songs reared its angry head when I heard my little cousin laughingly say to her friend who was jokingly hating on her, “Kill yourself!” Much to my dismay and confusion, they both started to laugh uncontrollably. The notion had become nothing more than a harmless, and sadly, accepted colloquialism in everyday interchanges.
Unfortunate, I know. But the more I thought on it, the more theologically sound the concept seemed. Oftentimes, our prevailing thoughts are ones that don’t align with the word of God. Too many times, we say and do things we shouldn’t. We forget that our responsibility to God’s “do’s” is as important as our obligation to His “do not’s.” In essence, when we “hate” on ourselves, disobey God, doubt His ability to work in and through our lives, we are hindering the ability of the promised fullness and abundance of life to flow freely in our Spirit-filled walk with Christ.
Paul said in Romans 7: 11 “For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.” It seems more fitting that we should die a daily, voluntarily death to our flesh—its thoughts, actions and tendencies—rather than to have sin do the killing. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” I Peter 3:18 (KJV)
Prayer: Lord, thank you so much for your grace and mercy that covers me. Thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, who died for my sins so I would have the power to die to my flesh and to those sins that separate me from Your presence; and thus from the fullness of joy and abundant life that comes with it. Teach me how to please You, God, with my thoughts, actions and speech. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable unto you Lord, my Redeemer.
Comments
Post a Comment