Conforming (phase 2), An Enneagram Exercise and The Value System of Jesus Christ (step 11), session 3

Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. - Gal 5, 19-23

First, a silly observation: these verse numbers match the dates of this work week.

Why is it that we (okay, maybe not all or even most of us. maybe it's just me. but i doubt it) insist on looking at this first list with at least a trace of disappointment that at least one or two of these items are off limits to us? Okay, I don't want to worship idols or chant incantations, and I certainly don't want to sow strife or be envious. But a little bit of drunkenness and carousing sound like fun, and to forbid fornication and impurity seems draconian! I mean, we're wonderfully made, right, and some of us incredibly so?!

Our attitudes toward the flesh are often still too aligned with the value system of this world, and this can leave us vulnerable to these sins in a number of ways.

One is the way we sometimes feel as if we have done something noble by avoiding that which - let's face it - really isn't good for us in the first place. I've had occasion of late to think about what would happen if a certain unlikely temptation should ever prevent itself, and have had to acknowledge that even desiring it is not good for me, and yielding to it would shatter (whatever is left of) my appreciation for the life with which God has blessed me. So why do we think we're doing such a good thing by trusting that what God says about these things might really be true?

A second is that we can feel it's okay for us to cling to a longing for one or two of these works of the flesh, and over time that desire poisons both our happiness and our relationship with God. We can see the fleshly things we're "missing out on" as a void in our lives, and begin to view God as a capricious despot rather than a loving Father who always wants what is best for us. It can undermine our relationships with others, too, whom can resent for their unwillingness to conform their own boundaries to our desires.

Failing to view these works of the flesh rightly also leads us to flirt with what we perceive of as the boundaries between harmless thoughts and actual sinful acts. It's a bit, though, like walking in a nondescript region that contains a boundary between two countries, one free and one tyrannical. It's hard to be sure exactly where that demarcation is, and we are likely to find ourselves detained and made subject to a different set of living conditions than the ones we were counting on.

We can even come to think that one or more of these fleshly desires is really something we need, even something that we cannot live without. The more we indulge in it, the more convinced we are that it is what we need and the more enslaved we become.

We can never be enslaved by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control.