Your decisions on how to use the liberty you have in Christ affect more than just yourself. That's why "Love your neighbor as yourself" is so valuable as a life-organizing principle. "Love your neighbor as yourself" oozes with relational and social implications. But so does any lifestyle choice based on the values of the flesh.
How you interact with popular culture or with the values of the world impacts others and influences their behavior. In the case of the Galatians, their works of discord, dissension, and faction-making (all "works of the flesh" according to 5:19-21a and evidence by their "biting and devouring one another" according to 5:15) brought them and others dangerously close to mutual destruction.
The Apostle Paul tells the Galatians to "live by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh" (5:16). Paul's words do not constitute a legalistic approach to making lifestyle decisions, nor do they allow one based on license. Instead, they form part of a framework for ensuring that our lifestyle decisions are not only good for us, but also truly an expression of love for our neighbor.
We will look more closely at what it means to "live by the Spirit" in two Sundays. In the meantime, let me encourage you to raise your own awareness of the impact and influence of your own decisions about how to engage the world.
2 comments:
"How you interact with popular culture or with the values of the world impacts others and influences their behavior."
Very true. How often do I live lazily instead of evaluating my intentions through a love for neighbor lens?
I'm finding that it takes conscious decision and practice to show love for my neighbors. It's all to easy to say "I'm tired" or "I'm too busy." Instead, I need to change perspective from being "me" focused to "others" focused. Then, let that behavior show in my daily interactions with whoever and whatever God brings into my day.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Amen. I need to hear God's Word accurately communicated like this all the time. Thanks for not sugar-coating the truth.....
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