Once in a while, I am humbled when I see my flesh rear its ugly head at work. Selfish thoughts, words, and actions that are the exact opposite of what I believe in and have consistently lived out in my Christian walk for nearly 50 years will often slip in unobtrusively when I least expect it. Just when I think I can be confident of my maturity in Christ, I am brought back down to reality. Does this ever happen to you? What can we do to succeed when our flesh and spirit battle it out?
Most Christians understand the very real opposition that we face as believers from the flesh, the world, and Satan. There is always a spiritual battle going on. Some of us struggle with one area more than the others. For me, the flesh is where I feel the struggle every single day. It affects my heart and my mind, influenced by both the world and the devil, to draw me away from my stumbling pursuit of holiness, distracting, discouraging, and defeating me in ways too numerous to count.
Let me summarize what God’s Word teaches us about this unrelenting internal battle between flesh and spirit, focus on where it might manifest itself at your workplace and mine, and offer some practical solutions to be able to stand our ground in the power of the Holy Spirit to remain true to the purposes God has called us to in Christ. I encourage you to read reflectively as we look at this.
What is the flesh?
In the Old Testament, we may not find a concise definition of what our flesh (or, as some refer to it as our “old sin nature”) is. But we do see plenty of examples of what unredeemed human behavior looks like as opposed to godly behavior. Since the Fall of Adam in Gen. 3, men and women have made selfish choices, such as killing a brother, deceiving a father, or stealing someone’s wife.
What did Jesus teach about the flesh? Jesus made an astute observation to the Scribes and Pharisees in the context of washing rituals. Jesus said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly” (Mark 7:20-22).
Romans 7 is probably the best source of our understanding of the flesh. Before we were Christians, we were dead in Christ. We were lost and blind to the things of the Spirit. ‘In the realm of the flesh,” i.e., under its power, “the sinful passions” were “at work in us” (Rom. 7:5). Even believers can’t escape its influence. Paul understood well that his body was genetically predisposed to sin. He described his own internal struggles: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Rom. 7:15). He elaborated, “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature (flesh). For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (Rom. 7. 18-19).
In Gal. 5:17, Paul echoed this same inner battle in the life of the believer, stating, “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” Later, he contrasted the attitudes and actions of the flesh vs. the fruit of the Spirit. The flesh manifests itself in things like these, which are not an exhaustive list, but merely a representation: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like” (Gal. 5:19-21).
Where do we see our flesh at work?
I have never seen things like witchcraft or drunkenness at work. However, I have probably seen most of the other things listed above. In addition, what I have seen most often in my military career are pride, anger, frustration, impatience, lust, laziness, selfishness, dishonesty, and favoritism.
If I am honest, my flesh shows up to work on time, fully dressed, and ready to go every day. When the constant stream of people who need me to do one more task and the never-ending emails with urgent requests for information fill my plate to the point where the main dish is starting to fall off, I find myself getting angry, frustrated, or impatient. The root cause is forgetting that God is in control.
What about you? How do you see your flesh rear its ugly head? Do you also struggle with anger, frustration, or impatience? Do lustful thoughts attack you when you walk by that one coworker’s desk? Do you struggle with not telling the whole truth to your boss due to fear of the consequences?
How can we stand firm?
When I was a young Christian in the mid-’70s, I was exposed to author Watchman Nee. He wrote a book that unpacked a brilliant model of the Christian life, which was taught by the Apostle Paul in his epistle to the church in Ephesus. As I recall, the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians invite us to sit. Chapters 4 and 5 describe how we should walk. Chapter 6 challenges us to stand.
We read in Eph. 6:10-17, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Satan is able to exploit the weaknesses of our flesh to trip us up every chance he gets to kill our effectiveness for ministry.
Here are some things that I have tried to do on a consistent basis to be able to stand firm in the power of the Holy Spirit, where I can find victory over the weak areas of my own flesh:
- Confess your sin as soon as you are made aware of it
- Pray over this weakness daily
- Conduct a topical Bible study on the area where you struggle the most
- Memorize some verses that will keep you focused
- Find an accountability partner to share your struggles
- Do not hesitate to find a Christian counselor if needed
I also highly encourage you to read and meditate on chapters 6-8 of Romans. It is a long section of some deep theology, but it will provide you with a much richer understanding of who you are in Christ: a sinner who has been saved by grace, raised in newness of life, and set free from the realm of sin.
Closing thoughts
Let me add a few final words of encouragement as you walk away with a renewed desire to walk in the Spirit at work.
We are not talking about “perfection” here, but about “direction.” Making progress in becoming more like Jesus is the goal. It takes a lifetime of sanctification, which is the divine process where God works out what He already has worked in your new heart. (See Ezek. 36:26 and 2 Cor 5:17).
After pursuing these things by faith over many decades in various work situations, I found that when I chose to depend on God to give me victory over the flesh, what seemed to be impossible at first became possible. Although your flesh will never lose its influence, after consistent practice over time, you will see the Holy Spirit win one battle after another. When you do, I encourage you to celebrate these small victories and then go back to work the next day to face another battle.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Russ Gehrlein
Featured Image by Bruno from Pixabay
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