Not envying each other

“Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (Galatians 5:26)

 

Christian is a person of the spirit reborn through the Holy Spirit. A person who has been renewed in Jesus must keep away from the flesh’s greed and bear the holy fruits in the Spirit. Nobody can escape the greed of the body by oneself. Even the people of the Holy Spirit cannot wholly leave the flesh, for not to be a spirit of complete self-sufficiency. Living in a dilemma of spiritual freedom and restraint is the reality of man. Just an important task is how I subjugate myself to the Holy Spirit and do good. In order to achieve this, “Do not seek false glory, do not anger each other, and do not fight,” everyone must truly be reborn in Jesus.

 

In the human spirit, fleshly desire and Holy Spirit’s power are always in parallel. Bible says, the two ones are opposing forces, and the fleshly desire is injustice, and the Spirit’s power refers to the holy and righteous. We should try to avoid the understanding attitude that equates the physical tendency of the body with the desire of the flesh. Nor should the intellectual ideas of the Bible and the faith be misunderstood as the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The difference between the fleshly and the Holy Spirit’s can be identified as a comprehensive fruit through cause, progress, and outcome. He who is under the law cannot represent the fruit of the Holy Spirit, for only “~ through the law we become conscious of our sin.” in Romans 3:20.

The fleshly acts in the text Galatians 5:19~21 are sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and so on. The listed acts contain both physical and mental elements. If someone’s bodily activity has a meaning with wrong intention, it cannot be the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And such physical actions are expressed in many ways, including individual actions, inner elements, and the actions of the majority. As the saying goes, “It’s possible to measure deep water, but you can’t figure out someone’s innermost thoughts.” it is difficult to distinguish good from evil because of the complexity of man’s sinful spirit.

It is ultimately impossible for a person to be correctly modified by artificial methods of education. Of course, we need to have instruction at home and at school, and it is also true that society develops through education. However, the fundamental changes and reforms of human spirit cannot be completed with general learning. That is the limit the common teaching and learning have. Either intelligent or ignorant, all of men are busy working on the fleshly work mentioned above. However, by such endeavors they cannot receive the kingdom of God as an inheritance. To take the kingdom of God, each of us must be the one who bears the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Here in Galatians 5:22~23 is listed what the fruit of the Holy Spirit is. Those are love, pleasure, peace, patience, mercy, good faith, loyalty, meekness, moderation, etc. All the mentioned of the Holy Spirit are the items about inner spirituality. On the contrary, whether a healthy body or spending money on charity; popularity from a good character, or political feats, and etc, these were not mentioned as the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. But would you think about the present state of affairs for a moment! What are the things that people are interested in, eager to pursue in general? The answer to that is too easy. They are physical health, wealth, beauty, popularity, honor, social success, etc. It is naturally true those are important to human life, but it is pointless to make such things the ultimate goal of life. Because they don’t bring you happiness forever. Then, won’t you change your mind now? Let us set the ultimate goal of bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, in addition to the efforts for the success of physical life. It will never be easy for anybody to do so. But if you have the spirit reborn in Christ, you should practice thoughts and actions changed compared to the past.

 

If you don’t throw away yours accustomed to the thoughts and actions of the flesh, unfortunately, you will become a person who has nothing to do with Christ. Paul the apostle said clearly that “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” in Galatians 5:24. As a person of the Holy Spirit, acting in the Holy Spirit is a natural reason. Bear in mind this, as a person of the Holy Spirit, it is never a desirable image that Christians are angry and envyiing each other.

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on May 24th 2020)