I am ruthless when it comes to flies in my home. I had just swatted one but had not yet cleaned it up – interrupted by a kettle boiling for tea. I turned to see another fly alighting on top of the dead one to begin its own feast! I understand flies have no conscience or respect for the dead, even of their own kind. But it was still awful to witness.
And yet, we so easily do it to each other.
But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. ~ Galatians 5:15
We may not be cannibals – and yet we consume each other just the same. But God helps us see another way:
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ~ Galatians 5:14-16
It is tough to love someone else. It is easy to return hurt for hurt.
It is tough to be patient with others. It is easy to snap and lose our temper.
It is tough to be kind when we are tired or lonely or insecure. It is easy to become self-absorbed.
It is tough to walk by the spirit, to crucify the flesh, to deny ourselves.
And yet, if we cannot submit to walking by the Spirit, we will be consumed by something much worse – the biting and devouring of ourselves and those around us, a slow painful demise of heart and spirit. We will not only be consumed with ourselves – we will be consumed by ourselves.
It can indeed be tough to live by the Spirit, but it also comes with deeper, richer blessings: freedom and love.
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another ~ Galatians 5:12
May we each instead choose to walk by the Spirit in true freedom.
Photo by Jin Yeong Kim on Unsplash
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