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"Motivated to Resist!"
Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in doing things, even seemingly the right things, for the wrong reasons. What I mean by that is - a lot of us (myself included) from time to time tend to act in accordance with some form of sub-optimal reasoning that fails to take into account what God's word says on the matter at hand. We may even think we have open lines of communication with God and perhaps even feel that there is a strong relationship with Him, yet we still fail in one way or another to give up every aspect of our lives for His glory rather than some variation of our own. When our core motivation is serving God, and we truly want our lives to reflect Jesus Christ in everything we do, we are far more likely to ensure that our motives and desires do not fail to reflect on what God essentially knows is best for us.
Often times I find myself slipping up into some sort of sin when I let my guard down and allow fleshly or worldly views to corrupt my frame of thinking. For instance, I know that the optimal decision for me to make when I see a striking, provocatively dressed woman on the street, or simply stumble upon an erotic, sexually enticing kind of image on the internet my best play is too bounce the eyes off and try not to let the issue pervade my thought life. Despite this knowledge of what the ideal decision would be, an alarming number of times I find myself focusing intently on said woman/image, and rarely find myself valiantly resisting the temptation like I know I should. My motives at this moment are self-seeking, and all I am thinking about is satisfying my appetite for lust - which is practically insatiable. In actuality, I think that is one of the biggest lies that the enemy tries for us who struggle with maintaining sexual purity to believe. He wants us to think that sexual activity outside of marriage will be absolutely pleasurable, thrilling, and satisfying. This couldn't be further from the truth. Sure you might experience the momentary, fleeting pleasure or thrill associated with doing something that shouldn't be done - however, just as fast as it comes it will immediately fade away and in the long-run will be replaced by bitterness, sorrow, regret, and potentially even despair among other negative consequences. I know this is true because unfortunately to this day I still have my occasional struggles with pornography addiction, despite knowing that all the wrong motivations are being addressed when I give in to lusting with my eyes rather than taking the higher road and standing firm to resist this sort of sin. (See V*1 and V*2).
I think one of the greatest issues we have with sin as human beings is the fact that whether we resist or give in to a certain temptation, we will not receive the ramifications of doing so at that exact moment in the majority of cases. What I mean is, all the consequences that God has in store for us are actually deferred for at least a short time and potentially on up to a lifetime before we see the results of our actions. Erwin Lutzer, a pastor on Moody Christian radio that I frequently listen to, made this point in one of his sermons and I found it fascinating. Imagine if immediately after we sinned we would be punished and know all the great blessings we were forfeiting as a result of our tampering with sin. On the other hand, imagine receiving immediate blessing and knowing the exact heavenly treasures that are in store for us for executing God's plan would be on the spot. I do not know about you, but to me it seems that if this scenario were reality we would all be a lot more reluctant to plunge into sinful lifestyles and a lot more willing to obey God on a regular basis if this were the case. Now, back to reality, we all know this is not the case and we may all ponder why it is not - but the important point to bring home is that we all need to have faith. If we can grab hold of faith we can rest assured that God's word is the truth that it claims to be, Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and our actions here on Earth whether good or bad will be judged one day. One day we will all be responsible to stand before God, and give a detailed account of our lives to Him in regards to how we chose to live and what we were able to do with the blessings He gave us on this earth. I don't know about you friends, but as excited I am about this I pray almost daily that He will not judge me harshly and that He continues to bless me with opportunities to obey Him with the right motivations firmly hidden in my heart. (See V*3).
I know that simply accepting Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior and believing in Him is enough to get to heaven, and that in itself is the greatest gift I could ever hope to have received. (See V*4). For those of us that are fortunate enough to have accepted Him, we know that deep inside at our core we want nothing more than to find the motivation necessary to execute His will on a daily basis without questioning it. We also know that in accordance with His word, now that our eternal salvation is secure, we can actually help others find this special gift is available to them as well and are even given the opportunity to store up heavenly treasures in the process. Remember, there are still people out there who haven't heard God's word or are still on the fence about accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Rest assured that if we have pure motivations in our heart, and desire to win souls for God, He will reward us when the time comes. (See V*5). With that said, we should carefully consider verses such as this set found in the gospel of Matthew. In this group of verses we observe that one's reward has already been received in full if you do so strictly to impress other people here on earth. This verse, among others, illustrated just how important our motivations are to God. He judges the motives of our hearts, not just the action that we take in and of itself. (See V*6).
It is also a challenge in and of itself to stand firm in the face of temptation and simply not give in. I think that "being bored" and seeking to satisfy those troublesome fleshly or worldly motives may be some of the most dangerous situations we may find ourselves in and unfortunately are a precursor to stumbling for many of us. (See V*7). In these cases, it is easier said than done, but best to busy ourselves with something spiritually uplifting that may give us the energy to resist in the difficult battles that lie ahead. In some situations, a neutral distraction that may help us get our mind off giving into sin may suffice as well. In any case I think the ideal solution may be dependant on the person, and their particular weak and strong areas. For example, if someone had a detrimental addiction to alcohol and could not drink in moderation under any circumstances, an obvious part of resolving the problem will have to involve them admitting that this is an issue in their lives and that the only feasible way out would be not to even get started on a first taste of a drink. This may sound quite extreme, but if drunkenness is the only potential outcome once they get started, and they cannot shift their focus and move on when it is time to stop, then this is really the only plausible answer. Remember, as I have said before in a prior article, alcohol is unique in the sense that it is not inherently sinful. In other words one may drink without getting into drunkenness and inappropriate behavior, whereas stealing on the other hand is sinful regardless of how serious the level of theft is. Whether I steal a pencil from a classmate, or manage to steal a piece of art worth millions of dollars - either case falls in the category of a sinful behavior and we should all attempt to avoid it.
Additionally, about standing firm in the face of sin, we need to remind ourselves that the burden of responsibility to do this stands on us. It is true that our own will-power is fallible and we may certainly need to ask for help of God or even our family and friends in certain situations in order to succeed, the final decision is up to us. Although I believe God has predestined for a variety of things to happen in light of His word (See Ephesians - a future article I do will discuss this topic in more detail), He has blessed each of us with free will to decide whether or not we are on His side in the process of His plans unfolding. What an honor it is to be able to freely choose to serve God out of own motivation to do so. (See L*1).
All in all, I hope that you will pray diligently that God will bless your heart and mind with the proper motivations in light of His agenda and not our own earthly desires. We need to be willing to give up our most treasured assets, if it means we are better serving God by doing so. I know that I myself find that thought difficult, but if God gave me a clear message to get rid of something I loved - because it meant better serving Him - I would pray and hope that I could throw it out immediately with as little hesitation as possible.
One other note, that I wanted to cover, involves judging the motives of other people. We may think we have a clear picture of what makes someone act in a certain manner or do something specific, but I know for certain only God has this kind of perception-ability to be able to do so perfectly. With that said, we should try to be lenient and forgiving as possible with our loved ones and yes even strangers. Try to remember that despite how we feel about someone, God also created and planned for that person to receive an opportunity on this earth to serve His greater purposes. We may not even like someone, but God loves them unconditionally and it is our responsibility to take this into account before we are unkind to them. It is very difficult to love someone who has no intent to do good things for you, and much easier to love someone who constantly helps you out, but God calls us to love all people - so at the very least this is what we should aim to do.
-Victor Nunez
Biblical References:
V*1- Therefore, put to death whatever in you is worldly: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5 (HCSB)
V*2- For everything that belongs to the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one's lifestyle - is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God's will remains forever. 1 John 2:16-17 (HCSB)
V*3- For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:14 (HCSB)
V*4- For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (HCSB)
V*5- Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So whenever you give to the poor, don't sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They've got their reward! 3 But when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:1-4 (HCSB)
V*6- All the ways of a man seem right to him, but the Lord evaluates the motives. Proverbs 21:2 (HCSB)
V*7- Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord's work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 (HCSB)
Links:
L*1- http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/predestination.html
This link talks about predestination and free will. It elaborates on how each is not mutually exclusive to the other, and delves into what I think is a fair explanation on this topic.