Romans 12:1-2, "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this wold, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."
Romans 12 is a very familiar chapter to most of us. We've heard the first two verses time and again. What I've noticed today, though, is that this chapter is very simple to understand but very hard to live. Why is this?
Everything in this chapter goes against what our human flesh wants. We're told not to think of ourselves as being higher than anyone else, to do whatever God has given us to do well, to not be lazy, to be patient in trouble, to be eager to practice hospitality, to not pay back evil with evil, to live at peace with everyone, and my favorite (not): to bless those who persecute you.
All of these things make our flesh scream, "NOOOOO!!!" We don't like to humble ourselves, be patient in trouble, or bless those who are treating us like dirt.
Yet, that's exactly what God has told us to do.
If you read any of my posts on facebook yesterday, it was very apparent that my day was not going well. I woke up with a swollen lip. Went to school and had one of my friends want to cheat off of my homework. Then, when I tried to find a post office, the lady who was at the place I went to was beyond rude to me. Later that evening I found out that someone who'd asked me out was certainly not someone I should be with, and to sum up my day, I got home and had my ipod go blank on me (which honestly just made me laugh because I thought at this point, "Bring it on!").
Looking at this list today doesn't seem nearly as intense as it felt yesterday, but in the midst of it, I felt like my world was crumbling. I still wasn't proud of my behavior, though.
After the post office situation, I walked out in tears due to the lady's unkindness, but guess what the only verse that I could think of was? "Pray for your enemies. Bless them and do not curse them." So here I am, driving away in my car to find the right post office and praying in a very mean tone, "Lord, I don't want to bless this lady. All I want to pray for her right now is to curse her, but I'm told to bless her, so... bless her, Lord! That's all I can pray because I have nothing nice to say!!!"
I'd like to say I changed my attitude after that yesterday, but I held onto that negative attitude until I got home that night, and it was an apparent attitude to everyone around me.
As we get down to the last verse in Romans 12, we read, "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."
Seriously? This entire chapter completely goes against what our flesh wants us to do.
I wish I could go back to yesterday and hit the undo button in the way I handled things, but I cannot. I can't change how my countenance was yesterday, but I can tell you one thing. Today, I'm on guard against the enemy's attacks and will not let his evil conquer me. If I have to deal with any of those situations today, with God's help, I will conquer that evil with good.
I can no longer be conformed to the behaviors and customs of this world. I need to let God transform me into a new person by allowing Him to transform the way I think.
Here is my truly favorite part of Romans 12: After allowing God to transform the way I think, I will learn to know God's will for me, which is good and pleasing and perfect. In the end, this is what can motivate me to do all of these things that go against what my flesh wants. Why? Because I can rest in knowing that doing these things isn't to harm me, but rather it is to lead me into the life that God wants me to have.
Dear Heavenly Father,
It's no secret to You how I acted yesterday. In the midst of trial, attack, and misery, I chose to follow the flesh instead of following the Spirit. I'd like to take back my attitude from yesterday and change it, but I don't have that option, so please forgive me, and thank You for another chance to do better today. Lord, life is full of disappointments and poopy people, but You didn't say to be nice to those who were nice to us. You didn't say to be patient in the good times. No, You said to bless those who persecute us and to be patient in trouble. I trust that Your will for me is good and pleasing and perfect, though, so although these things scream against my flesh, help me next time to handle the tough situations in a way that would make You proud.
In Jesus' Name.
Amen.
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