Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:7-10 NIV
As Christians we are to live in the Spirit and resist the temptation of the flesh. If you are not a Christian and you are wondering what that means, well I can only explain it like this. The flesh is the temptation that we face from the devil. The flesh will tell you that it is okay to lie. The flesh will tell you that it is okay to have sex with that person who is not your spouse. The flesh will tell you that it is okay to eat the triple bacon cheeseburger and fries instead of the salad with oil and vinegar dressing. The flesh is all those things that seem really good at first. The flesh tells us to do something that is a sin right now and not worry about the effects that it will have tomorrow.
If you live in the Spirit you forego some of those things that look good on the surface.
When we live in the flesh, it takes no practice, no preparation. Just as the Nike ads say, we “just do it”. On the surface it appears to be fun and spontaneous. It’s a kind of no- holds- barred type of lifestyle, often these people appear to be the life of the party. The problem comes when they get caught. When you live this type of lifestyle, it always catches up with you. You get caught up in your lies. Your bad habits become problematic for your health and may destroy relationships. Sexual promiscuity can lead to disease and unplanned pregnancy which can then lead to abortion. It looks good on the surface, but it is disastrous in the end. Now there is a good thing that can come out of total disaster. When total disaster strikes, often times people come to realize their need for God in their life and they turn to Him. People that turn to God out of disaster generally learn to cling tight and stay close to Him.
Those of us that strive to live in the Spirit may look like “stick in the muds” to those living in the flesh, but we are practicing and preparing for an eternal life in glory with our Heavenly Father. We are striving for the end prize. Now, the harder we strive to live in the Spirit, the harder the devil will tempt us to get into the flesh. So we must work hard at staying in the Spirit. We must not grow weary of doing good. Because one main tool that the devil will use is people in our lives. We will have people that ride that roller coaster between the Spirit and the flesh and they will make life on the other side seem so good. They will tempt us to “just this once” have a little fun. But the worst temptation we will face is hard times. It’s easy to do good when all is going well in your life. But when evil people come against you and they seem to flourish and they seem to be winning, it becomes very difficult to stay righteous and not stoop to their level. See this for just what it is, a ploy used by the devil to get you into the flesh.
You can’t mock God. If you are talking the talk, but not walking the walk, God knows. If you are living a Sunday kind of Christianity where you tend to forget who you are Monday through Saturday, God knows. If you have hidden sin in your life that you just refuse to let go of, God knows. If you attend church every time the doors are open and serve on every committee there is, but mistreat people, God knows. We hide nothing from God. This scripture passage tells us we will reap what we sow.
God also knows that there will be times when we will become weary from trying to do good, but here Paul encourages the Galatians to not give up and not become weary in doing good. He encourages them to keep their eyes on the prize. Now if anybody walked the walk, it was Paul. Paul was the real deal. Paul was flogged, beaten, and stoned and spent most of his time on various missionary journeys in prisons, but he kept on spreading God’s word. He ministered to fellow prisoners and to guards alike. He introduced people to the gospel no matter where he was. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Paul is that he was formerly called Saul and had persecuted Christians. Once God saved him on the road to Damascus, Paul lived a life of righteousness and never looked back.
My prayer for you today is first and foremost that you are not mocking God. I pray that you are not presenting yourself as a Christian in one setting and a heathen in another. I also pray that if you are living in the flesh that you turn to God and begin a new life in the Spirit. If you are living in the Spirit, there will be plenty of times when you will become worn and weary. Don’t give up! This is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep your eyes on the prize.
Have a great day!