Some of us get caught up in the “flesh” and we’re more concerned with worldly affairs than the matters of the heart.
The flesh is not truthful, honorable, right, or pure.
We can be obsessed with self and because of that we oftentimes miss the big picture and can’t see the lessons before us. We don’t even recognize how toxic our self-righteousness is, especially when we use it to judge and attack others. When we’re walking around consumed by the flesh we’re too blind to see that there’s no truth, honor, righteousness, or purity in our thoughts and actions, because we don’t see that what we do and say is not of God—it is not what Moses or Jesus taught.
It’s our warped approach at getting what we think we deserve.
Jesus was and is concerned with our hearts. He was sent to be a disruptive force, to fulfill the Old Testament prophecy, to divide truth from fiction, and to establish clear lines and expectations—NOT to force anyone to listen and believe. Jesus NEVER judged and damned someone for not following and believing, yet so-called Christians today walk around holier-than-thou judging and condemning people to damnation as though God gave them the power and authority to do so.
God doesn’t need to force you to be truthful, honorable, right and pure—He gives us a choice. He looks at our heart. He knows we are weak and troubled. His grace gives us opportunities to do and be better. Those who choose to be the opposite of the qualities and principles that represent Him, deal with the life hereafter based on that understanding.
So stop trying to be everyone’s judge. Stop playing Jesus and God. You have your own role and responsibilities. You have your own obstacles to overcome and sins to avoid (and atone for). You are not blameless and flawless.
Stop parading around in your self-righteousness trying to force people to convert to your ways, thinking, practices, and religious beliefs. Attacking people for thinking and living differently is not a lesson from Jesus’s teachings. You never read anywhere that Moses dragged his people out of Egypt. Anyone who willingly wanted to leave could come, and anyone who wanted to stay could do so. It was always about choice.
Jesus never forced anyone to believe and follow Him. Never. He never harassed and insulted people for their shortcomings or their sins. Jesus ticked off those in power, the elitists, the zealots, the teachers of the law, the so-called experts. He held them to the standards they claimed to uphold. He revealed their hypocrisy. But even then, He never told them to follow Him or be prepared for hell.
Jesus never attacked, assaulted or killed someone in His name or in God’s. We don’t have one account of Him ever putting His hands on someone in a violent way. Yet look at us, thousands of years later and we think we have the right to do all of these things because we call ourselves Christians.
People parading around with picket signs and banners of judgment, telling complete strangers that they are damned to hell for their beliefs and practices. We see so-called Christians shooting and bombing buildings and people, all in the name of God—when actually that’s just the devil manipulating your weak minds and flesh. The devil is the enemy and it uses your weaknesses against you in hopes of pulling you farther from God, yet convincing you it’s bringing you closer to God. What a wicked game it plays.
The enemy loves to destroy nations, communities and families. Consider how it attacks the family….
Those of you who are married and don’t realize how weak your flesh really is, consider this: do you find yourself nitpicking what your spouse does and says? Do you hold them to outrageously high standards or constantly raise the standards after they reach them? Are you holding grudges, spiteful, and vindictive? Are you constantly badmouthing them to other people? Do you benefit from their contributions to the family and household, yet tell them (and outsiders) that they could do more and better?
That’s you operating out of your flesh. That’s you being the enemy’s pawn in a game you won’t win if you keep giving in to its manipulative ways.
Stop tearing down your spouse for not being perfect in your eyes. Stop comparing your “yard” to someone else’s. Stop comparing your spouse to someone else. Stop holding them to standards that even you don’t meet consistently or at all. No one is perfect. No one can hit that 100% mark each and every time. We all fall short more times than we make it.
If any athlete could make every shot, score every touchdown, win every race then there would be no need for competition, there would be no need for a team.
Your marriage is a team effort.
Each person pulls their weight and then you’re to come together and share the load, pulling together the weight that is too heavy for one to bear.
Don’t attack and judge your spouse for not having the financial, social or physical capabilities that they once had or that you wish they had but they fall short of achieving.
Do you possess all of these abilities and do you consistenly meet those standards?
If not, be silent and supportive. If you do possess all of those abilities then why don’t you do something productive like help pull some of the load so that your spouse isn’t doing all or most of it alone. You want to benefit from being a part of the team, you want the championship ring, but you think it can be accomplished while riding on the bench or pacing the sidelines. There’s no true success in a stagnant environment.
When you look at your spouse and what they do each day, ask yourself these questions:
- Are they making an effort to protect and provide for your family?
- What is their heart showing you?
Focus on that and let the trappings of the “flesh” go. The flesh is not truthful, honorable, right, or pure. The flesh can lead you to what looks good on the outside but is pure rot on the inside. The flesh can lead you away from what could be heaven and lure you to absolute hell. The grass is greener in the other yard because they fertilize, water, cut, and care for the yard. What are you doing to and for your yard? You get what you give!
Love always,
~Natasha
Copyright 2018. Natasha L. Foreman. All Rights Reserved.
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Breaking Bread With Natasha 