Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, May 19, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Paul goes on and on about how in Christ we’re no longer subject to the law. But then he gives a looooong list of things we’re not supposed to do: “fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.” And none of these are good things I guess, but…who gets to define what constitutes impurity? Why is everyone subject to patriarchal/societal norms about marriage that preclude “fornication” (sex out of wedlock)? Aren’t there times when dissention is not only acceptable but terribly, terribly necessary in an oppressive society?
Yes, Paul was speaking to a specific audience in a specific socio-cultural context, and maybe these things had specific meanings within that time and place. But it’s dangerous to try to make Paul’s admonitions fit into our modern context. That, I think, would lead to the much greater evil of trying to force others to conform to our particular preferences in the name of Jesus. Nope. No thank you.
For me personally, living by the Spirit, rather than the flesh is about working recovery programs around a couple of things that I used to numb out of my unpleasant reality, rather than facing things with God’s help. I guess what I’m getting at is that how we live in the Spirit vs. the flesh is between us and God, and we can’t put our own interpretations on others as a way to condemn them and uplift ourselves. ‘Nuff said.
Do I judge others for behavior that isn’t mine to judge?
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