I think most of us have become so accustomed to our first selves (our sinful nature) that many times than not, it directs the scopes of our lives. I deal with a variety of issues and in many cases my first instinct is to act out of sin (anger, jealousy, lust, selfishness). It is only after second thought that I am able to try and redirect these emotions and dispel them. Oftentimes, they resurface and I have to submerge them again and again.
Makes one truly think about themselves, hey? We are so geared and driven towards sin (behaviours and attitudes that do not glorify God) that they become so natural within us.
The life of a believer, however, is about continually correcting these attitudes. Nobody said it was easy.
Nobody said that when you become a believer, you will wake up one day and not act on the same sinful impulses you used to. In fact, the life of a believer is a continual battle against these things. It requires action:
"..throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life.." (Ephesians 5:22)
"...let the spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes..." (23)
"...Put on your new nature, created to be like God,--truly righteous and holy." (24)
A few things I figure: One has to consciously reject their sinful nature. For example, when one feels certain emotions and feelings surfacing (fear, doubt, anger, jealously), one has to in a sense "throw it off." This can be done, for instance, by changing your thought process, substituting and replacing these attitudes through meditation of God's word, or even thinking about some of the ways that acting sinfully hurts yourself, others, and God. Counter-acting sin is always a choice.
One's new nature has to be "put on." We are told to put it on because it is not simply there. It does not simply develop when you believe. It is a process. We have to constantly condition ourselves in God's word.
Finally, we have to "let" the spirit work in us. Sometimes I really feel war waging inside of me. My sinful nature and my newfound identity in Christ are in battle. We just have to let go, let go of base emotions and attitudes and clear our heads. It's best, sometimes, to put our heads into a neutral position first before positioning it in one way or another. Once we put our minds into a neutral position, we can then allow it to be filled with God's word. Sometimes, once you have turned head-on into the sphere of sin, it's hard to get yourselves out of that realm. On the other hand, immediately positioning yourself in the direction of God's word while base feelings abound functions to ignore the basis and foundation for His word. In these cases, sometimes the sin reemerges as one is not fully aware nor has dealt with the emotions that underlie their sin.
Example: Oftentimes, I am driven into believing the LIE that things must be good for me, before they are good for others. I dont know if you've ever dealt with people who celebrate your successes ONLY AFTER they have achieved their own. Believe me, I am guilty of this kind of behaviour as well! Sometimes, I may just throw myself into God's word in celebration, doing it because I know it is the right thing to do, without fully dealing with the lie. The lie still remains even though I have temporary given myself over to God in praise of others successes, while still harbouring the "what about me?" syndrome because my situation looks grim.
We must deal with the lies we believe about ourselves, others, and life, in order to fully devote and understand God. Thus, clearing one's head of thoughts and emotions allows a clean template for God's word to thrive in as one can discern the reason behind acting the way they do.
For example, one can clear their thought process and say..."I know I should truly be in praise and happy of this persons' success, despite my "failures" because we are one in Christ and a success for him, is essentially a success for me." We need to learn to divorce ourselves from ourselves and embrace God and oneness with His creation.
It is important to understand that...
Change is a process. It's best to condition yourself. Identify bad emotions, feelings, and actions and make a commitment to actively dispel them. Don't let sin become natural or allow yourself to get away with it.
Action plan for today: Be aware of sin, write them down and follow this up with Bible verses in opposition to them. Memorize those verses so that you can recall them in your mind when you stumble.
--God is always with you.
I
