TUG OF WAR

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do. Romans 7:15

“Let your conscience be your guide”. That is a famous line in Carlo Colloid’s book on Jiminy Cricket.

 We are all born with a God given conscience but over a life time our conscience is shaped by the culture. What standard do you use:

1)   You are free to do whatever you want. You are a self-centered, selfish, uncaring person. You could care less about what people think about you. You are a narcissistic person. You have a seared conscience.     (I Timothy 4:1 & 2)

2)    You use the law as your standard. You use the advice of an attorney to keep yourself from going over the line but you push it to the limit. You have little respect of others rights and assert your own.

3)   You use the standard of, everything is alright as long as it does not hurt anyone. You are considerate of other’s rights. You are a good person.

4)   Your standard is to do the right thing. Honesty and integrity are important to you. “The goal of this command is love, which  comes from a pure heart and good conscience and a sincere  faith”. (I Timothy 1:5)

But when you become a believer in Jesus as the Son of God, his Spirit indwells you. Then there is a tension, a tug-of-war, between your old nature and a Spirit directed life.  The Scriptures teach that our standard should be to

do the right thing but it takes a Spirit controlled life to apply this principle to everyday life.

Why did the Apostle Paul, a devoted and mature Christian, have such a struggle? Because doing the right thing requires  that we are proactive. Salt and light. The other standards of conscience allow you to be passive. It takes time, money and effort to love our family, neighbor, friend, and enemy, to tend to needs of people and to spread the gospel.

One of the questions of life is how much should we give away. The Bible gives us a 10% guideline but what about the other 90%? Abraham set the 10% standard because he loved God and God honored his gift. Jesus commended the widow who gave pennies and was a heart giver.  Some people give out of abundance others give sacrificially. Are we free to spend 90% any way we want? Shouldn’t we be able to enjoy the gifts God has given us?

There is a needy world out there. There is poverty, hunger, disease, and people who have not heard the Gospel message even once. There are people who need our help. Is doing the right thing giving more? That is for each Christian to decide because that is a matter between you and God. It is part of the tug-of-war.

When we lose the tug-of-war and fall short of the Biblical standard, we have a loving and forgiving Father to remove our guilt and sense of failure. Praise God!