Have you ever wished that you could change one part of the Bible if you had the chance to? Who hasn't really? We've all most probably come across a command or two given by God that wasn't too easy to swallow. Not all God's laws can be easy to abide by.
But is it wrong to feel that way? Should we feel bad or even convicted by the thought of not liking God's laws? Should we really force ourselves to love and delight in God's laws just as David once spoke of in Psalm 1:2?
Galatians 5:22-24 has this to say, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
We all know the first part of this scripture all too well. But the second is probably not so familiar. Paul talks about how a mark of belonging to Jesus involves dying to the flesh. If you think about that deeply, what it means is that we're probably going to not be able to do what we want to do. Let's make that simpler: Chances are you're not going to like it, but you're going to follow God's laws anyway.
Let us remember that we may be one being, but one made up of various facets. We have the body, the mind and the spirit. All three parts of us aren't always going to agree, but what matters most is what prevails and influences the whole. For instance, there will be times that my body will not like exercise, but my mind will remind me that it's going to be good for me and I do it anyway. Everyone wins.
Here's the real problem: As broken and sinful beings, we're quick to gratify the body and sometimes the mind, but also quick to neglect the needs of the spirit. The spirit needs to be void of sin and to follow God's commands. That's how we feed the spirit.
Our flesh may not like the idea, but as a whole we know it's good for us. I don't reckon that the day will ever come that I will enjoy fasting, but I know that if I follow God's commands, it will always do me good.
The key is understanding that all of God's commands are given for our delight and our welfare. 2 Timothy reminds us that scripture and the commands written in them are profitable: They're always going to result to a return of investment and beyond on our part. God gives us commands for our own good and our own protection.
Following God's laws will not always be easy, but given enough time we will start seeing God's commands as a delight even when they don't always benefit our flesh.
