"You, my brothers,
were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather,
serve one another in love."
A paraphrase of Galatians 5:13 in The Message reads like
this: "My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit.
Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful
self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit."
There truly is a root of "sinful self-interest" in all
that I do. Yes! There is a desire to write a Lenten Devotional that will honor Christ, and
inspire anyone who reads it. But parallel with that desire is the sneaky thought that
someone might read it and think how clever or pious I am.
Yes! There is a desire to serve Christ through serving "my
neighbor." But parallel with that desire there is the prideful thought that someone
might see me serving, and think how "Christ-like" I am.
Yes! There is a desire to serve Christ through giving offerings to the
church and other worthy causes. But parallel with that desire there is the self-serving
thought that I’m being "very generous" and surely deserve praise for my
generosity.
And no matter how earnestly I pray, this sinful motivation cannot be
completely eradicated, I’m thankful that God’s love comes to me by his grace in
spite of my self-centeredness.
