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The Human Condition

    The human condition is such that we want what isn't good for us. Our flesh craves what is detrimental to us. Even though we know what is right because of God's loving instruction, we continue to make the same mistakes. We run around in circles and never get anywhere! Paul had the same problem. He explains in Romans 7 how his flesh craved evil and he could not stop himself from doing it. But there is hope for us all through Jesus Christ. We can do nothing apart from Him. There isn't enough willpower in the world to stop us from sinning-- it has to be a change in heart. That is why we are given the Spirit to guide us through those times. He lives in us and changes our desires completely so that we now desire what is good for us and can live a fulfilling life. Recognize that you cannot change without Him. Rely on His Spirit to help you move forward to a healthy lifestyle.

Romans 7:14-25  So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. (NLT)

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