Starving the Flesh (and Other Rocks and Bumps on the Narrow Road)

So it's official. Oreos are addictive.

Of course, the majority of us already knew that. Most of us grew up on the two chocolate chip cookies with icing in the middle, and no doubt recognized the need to have just one more, and another, and another, and another. Now, however, it's been scientifically proven that Oreos are more addictive than drugs.

So the question you're asking now is why did I start my blog post with Oreos? Besides that Oreos are very appealing to the flesh, I really don't know. Fun fact for the day, I guess.

Now onto the point of this blog post. Starving the flesh.

Christians face three things on a regular basis; The world, the flesh, and the Enemy. All three of these things are constantly fighting to draw us away from God. These are the same three things Eve faced when being tempted; The lust of the eyes (The world), the lust of the flesh (The flesh) and the pride of life (the Enemy). The thing I want to focus on right now is the flesh.

So what are the characteristics of the flesh? The flesh wants to check Facebook instead of read the Bible. The flesh wants to watch Netflix instead of doing Bible Study. The flesh wants to watch the Football game instead of going to Church. Sound familiar? Of course it does, because the flesh is what we are. Our flesh wants nothing to do with God and wants everything that will keep us away from Him. 

If we feed the flesh by giving it what it wants, it will grow stronger in us. Paul tells us in Galatians that if we sow the flesh, we will reap the fruits of the flesh, which are sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, etc. You may not see these being fulfilled in your life right away, but if you keep giving the flesh what it wants, it will become the driving influence in your life. We can't avoid or fight the flesh because it's part of us, so the only thing we can do is starve it and feed the Spirit. Paul in Galatians 5:16-18 says, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish."

Feeding the Spirit and starving the flesh means not fulfilling the desires of the flesh and nurturing your Spirit; reading the Bible, studying the Bible, going to church, etc. It won't be easy at first, but eventually your Spirit will grow stronger than the flesh and you will reap the fruits of the Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control. God will help us every step of the way, but we have to do our part. Turning off the TV, putting down the box of Oreos, etc. It doesn't mean we won't stumble, but when we do, God pick us up and help us continue to feed the Spirit.

Are you with me? Let's starve the flesh.