Passage Read: Galatians 5-6
Meditation Verses: 5:19-21
Thought
"Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!" Those are strong words. I cannot and must not do any of those things Paul lists before this statement: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing and other things like these. I cannot be immoral, impure or sensual, or engage in any behavior like these. I cannot practice any form of idolatry, including greed, which Paul elsewhere links with idolatry. Any form of greed. It's one thing to seek to pay my bills, but to desire to get rich, to invest time and energy to significantly increase my income, that's a dangerous thing, especially when it shuts out whatever time I could be spending investing in the kingdom of God. To my knowledge, I have no trouble with sorcery. But that's where the list takes an interesting turn: How about enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions and envying? Those hit close to home. Those who practice these things, just like those who practice drunkenness, carousing or other things like that, will not inherit the kingdom of God. To hold grudges, to be angry at people, to be divisive or argumentative, especially out of a spirit of jealousy or envy, if these are true of me, I have no hope of salvation. Jesus Christ came to cleanse me of sin, so if I continue to live in godless behaviors, I have not been saved.
Application
This is not merely a matter of taming the tongue and successfully concealing all such hostilities. It is a matter of setting myself and others free from my hatred and my jealousy and my envy. I need to cleanse my heart of all these behaviors. I don't want to be a divider or dissenter, who sows division. I don't want to be bitter and angry toward others. I may not have to worry about the "big" sins in this list, but the "lesser" ones are just as damning as the "bigger" ones. I can't let any of them be true of me! I don't need to tear people down in order to gain an advantage. I don't need to pursue position or recognition; I need to trust God to do with me whatever He desires. I need to fix my heart on advancing His kingdom and promoting His glory. I need to live for Him first and only, and let God do with me as He sees fit. People need Jesus; they need to hear about Jesus, they need to be warned of the coming judgment, they need to be trained to walk in His ways. They are not tools to be used or manipulated to advance my kingdom.