Galatians 5:14-17

Galatians 5:14-17 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Our verses talk about two opposites: the flesh and the spirit. The flesh speaks to our sinful desires – the desire to make ourselves happy. But the Spirit speaks to our spiritual side – the side that was saved by faith in Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God wants us to do the right thing, but the flesh wants to do the selfish thing. The flesh wants to be lazy and greedy and cranky, but God wants us to think of others and have a good attitude. Anytime we want to lose our temper, that is the flesh at work. Anytime we want to take the best for ourselves, guess what? The flesh once again. Let’s have a quiz: I say something and you say the word flesh or the word spirit. OK? Anger. Love. Helping someone. Going first in line. Going last in line. Taking the largest piece of birthday cake. Handing out cold drinks. Sleeping in when we are supposed to be doing school work. Great! Have you noticed that the answer is always one or the other? It is never both. It is only one. And this is the lesson for today: We are always pleasing either the flesh or the spirit. But we can't please both. Today, think before you act. Will you following the flesh or the spirit?