Every living thing especially human being has the innate instinct for survival and self-preservation. On a positive note, it is a responsibility to oneself. But, when that sense of responsibility is being influenced by the worldly ways, it brings about the manifestations of lust, greed, pride, strife, jealousy, hatred, bitterness, resentment, etc. And if those negative feelings and fleshly desires are not ‘nipped in the bud’, they could lead to oppression, obsession, and even possession by evil spirits. Even if one has strong self-control against fleshly manifestations, harboring negative emotions in the soul may eventually lead to serious physical illness.
So, how do we differentiate what is ‘responsibility to oneself’ and what is ‘manifestation of fleshly desires’? And how do we arrest worldly influence and stay away from it?
Proverbs 16:2-3(AMP)
All the ways of a man are clean and innocent in his own eyes [and he may see nothing wrong with his actions],
But the Lord weighs and examines the motives and intents [of the heart and knows the truth].
Commit your works to the Lord [submit and trust them to Him],
And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance].
Commit (gâlal) = to roll.
Plans = aims, objectives, hopes, desires.
The first and foremost thing to do is to surrender your will and desires to the Lord. Believe it or not, the Lord knows every intent and motive of your heart, both the good and the bad. But He is not here to judge you and condemn you, unless you choose to turn away from Him forever. He is here to help you, if you would allow Him. Jesus died for your sins to make you right before God the Father. As a result, His Spirit can now dwell in you to teach and guide you (see John 16:13-15).
Therefore, always listen to His Spirit witnessing to your conscience. Choose to obey His prompting inside your heart, whether to repent, to forgive, or to let go. After that, seek the Lord for His specific instructions for you. When you lay down your own desires and choose His desires for you, the Lord will surely speak to you. He will speak either through words of prophecy, or through anointed dreams, or through the Scriptures you are reading during your time of personal devotion with Him, or in other ways that He sees fit for you. Choose to follow His specific words spoken to you and stand firm on them. By then, your desires and your plans for your life will automatically be aligned to His will instead of your own fleshly desires.
Let’s look into the lives of Abraham and Lot for an example:
Genesis 12:4-5 (TLB)
So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed him, and Lot went too; Abram was seventy-five years old at that time. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—the cattle and slaves he had gotten in Haran—and finally arrived in Canaan.
Abram (whose name was not changed to Abraham yet) took care of his nephew, Lot, after the demise of his brother. When the Lord told Abram to leave for Canaan, he took Lot along as a responsible uncle.
Genesis 13:5-7 (TLB)
Lot too was very wealthy, with sheep and cattle and many servants. But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds. There were too many animals for the available pasture. So fights broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot, despite the danger they all faced from the tribes of Canaanites and Perizzites present in the land.
You see, everything was alright until both Abraham and Lot had become very wealthy. They both had too many flocks and herds for the available pasture. Instead of guarding themselves from their common enemies, their herdsmen fought against each other.
All of us need to learn from this mistake of fighting and rivalry against one another, be it among siblings, friends, brethren in Christ, church groups, ministry groups, or ministers of God. There need not be any comparing and competing with one another. Complementing yes, but not competing. We are to support one another to push away forces of darkness instead of going against one another.
Genesis 13:8-9 (TLB)
Then Abram talked it over with Lot. “This fighting between our men has got to stop,” he said. “We can’t afford to let a rift develop between our clans. Close relatives such as we are must present a united front! I’ll tell you what we’ll do. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want that part over there to the east, then I’ll stay here in the western section. Or, if you want the west, then I’ll go over there to the east.”
Abram took the initiative to talk things over with Lot. And he gave preference to Lot to choose the land of his choice.
Spiritual stature doesn’t grow with age, but with the values and substances of one’s heart. Spiritual stature cannot be increased through material gains (i.e. wealth, academic qualifications, titles, positions, etc) but by what you sacrificially and generously give away to bless others.
Genesis 13:10-12(TLB)
Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan River, well watered everywhere (this was before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah); the whole section was like the Garden of Eden, or like the beautiful countryside around Zoar in Egypt. So that is what Lot chose—the Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants, and thus he and Abram parted company. For Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain, settling at a place near the city of Sodom.
Reading between the lines, Lot didn’t seem to give the respect due to Abraham as someone who had taken care of him ever since his father died. He seized the chance when given the choice and chose what he thought was the best for himself and his future. Was he being plainly immature because he was too spoilt by his uncle? Or was it because he couldn’t care less for the old uncle who was no longer useful to him? Only God knows.
Abraham did not hesitate to give preference to Lot because firstly, he cared for Lot, and secondly, he had found his security in God. He knew God was able to bless him as long as he depended on God. He understood that God was able to bless him more than what he could give away!
Genesis 14:14-16 (TLB)
When Abram learned that Lot had been captured(by King Chedorlaomer and his allies), he called together the men born into his household, 318 of them in all, and chased after the retiring army as far as Dan. He divided his men and attacked during the night from several directions, and pursued the fleeing army to Hobah, north of Damascus, and recovered everything—the loot that had been taken, his relative Lot, and all of Lot’s possessions, including the women and other captives.
Abraham was willing to risk his life to save Lot when he was captured. He did not keep grudges against his self-centered nephew, and when God wanted to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah later on, Abraham pleaded on behalf of Lot and his family. In other words, Abraham went all out to help Lot when he was in trouble. Such was the ‘bigness’ of Abraham’s heart, and God had surely seen it. No wonder God entrusted him with many descendants, and he eventually became the father of many nations!
It is how you react to the misfortune of those who have wronged you that shows your real character. God sees how much He can entrust you with His people and His anointing by looking at the ‘bigness’ of your heart.
Have there been competition for titles and positions in your church? There is no real position in God’s kingdom unless it is the calling and job description that is given directly by the Lord. Only ‘rabbits’ and ‘donkeys’ get tempted by ‘the dangling carrot’ put up by men. He who is greater is he who serves without asking and aiming for any title or position (see Luke 22:24-27). The Lord who sees your heart of serving (Colossians 3:23) will know how to honor you in ways you cannot imagine yet.
Have there been fierce office politics in order to get promotion in your organization? Know that your God is the biggest Boss and when He gives you the promotion, no earthly boss can pull you down. If you understand this, you won’t ever again want to dirty your hands playing office politics or backstabbing others!
Have there been fighting (and competing) for members among different church groups? Pastors and leaders, do you know that God doesn’t measure your faithfulness according to the number of members you try to persuade to join your church? Increase comes from the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:7). There's no need to fight and compete for numbers. God sees your faithfulness according to how sincere you pour your life on building whoever He has entrusted to you.
All in all, when you choose to follow God's ways instead of copying the patterns and ways of this fallen world, you have indeed risen above, and have now been made the head and not the tail (see Deuteronomy 28:13). Amen.