Was meditating last night after a great conversation with a brother, and in the midst of it I said something and later had to ponder the truth behind it.
We were discussing the ability by grace to live a righteous life and the seemingly contradictory experience of not being able to. While I won’t tackle all of this here, I did want to hit upon an important aspect of “overcoming” that is very important.
My comment late last night after having caffeine was, “Sometimes the problem is we are too concerned about the ‘no’ and we should instead be about the ‘yes’.”
As I meditated about this later, I realized how godly this idea is. Most of us know the label “Christian” means “little Christ.” So to be a Christian is to live a life so in line with the Spirit of Jesus that our testimony reminds others of Christ, the Anointed One.
So if we are to “be holy as I am holy”, as Peter quotes for us, what does that mean? Does it mean being so focused on what I can’t do that the “do not” aspect of holiness consumes me? It seems to me that God does not sit around thinking about all the evil stuff that He’s not supposed to do. Rather, I would say His thoughts are about the good He is able to do.
Therefore, to “be holy as I am holy” entails a different type of focus, at least in part. To be focused on the evil you’re not allowed to do, or not supposed to do, is spiritually counter-intuitive. It doesn’t work. But being about the things of the Kingdom will, by extension, help us to overcome in other areas of our lives.
This doesn’t mean you deny the wrong you’ve done or are capable of doing. When conviction comes, you acknowledge it, repent and move on. But “moving on” should be about what God has called us TO and not what He’s called us away from.
Romans states: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse … repay no one evil for evil … if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so you will heap coals of fire on his head … do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”
Now in context, Paul is speaking of the evil of others and our reaction to it. But what about the sin in our own lives? Can the same principle apply?
I believe it can. Part of overcoming the evil or sin in our own lives is to focus on the good that we have been called to do. To obey in the “yes” instead of wallowing in the “no”. Because if you can overcome in the “yes”, your spiritual enemy will be thwarted because the Devil’s ultimate goal is to steal, kill and destroy, and in so doing usurp God’s will and plan.
You cannot overcome evil by focusing on the evil. You can only overcome evil with GOOD.
In other words, don’t allow your periodic struggles with sin distract you or discourage you from doing what God has called you to do. I do not mean to excuse sin in any way (there is no excuse for it anymore), but don’t let your enemy have a double victory by also making you so focused on yourself and your own weakness that God’s desire to minister through you doesn’t happen.
What you will find is that when you are “about your Father’s business” and focused there as much as you are able, that obedience to God’s plan of spreading the Kingdom will by extension give you more grace and power and true perspective to overcome when struggling with sin. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” is as absolute and practical a principle as you will find.
I kinda rambled this out, so any additional comments or questions are always welcome.
Peace.