Head Trips

Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind Ephesians 2:3

Flesh/ Mind – It’s no surprise.  When we were without the guidance of the Spirit, when we were resistant to submission to the Father and when we existed without a relationship with Yeshua, our desires led us around like a dog on a leash.  Paul experienced this.  So did we.  But just before we rush off to proclaim the wonders of His grace and the freedom of His authority, we need to take a minute to reflect on the subtle depth of these desires.  Unless we know what they look like, we won’t see the red flags in time to step away from the edge of the Graves of Greed.

In perfect Greek style, Paul uses the terms sarx (flesh) and dianoia (mind).  We think this way, separating body from mind.  So, we might conclude that Paul has two kinds of desires in view:  those of the flesh (like sex, food, pleasure) and those of the mind (like greed, power, pride).  The Roman Catholic tradition follows just this kind of Greek philosophy when it divides sin into two categories.  Fortunately, Paul is neither Catholic nor Greek.  In spite of the words here, Paul sees something else.  Paul’s view is holistic.  In human living, there is no real separation between flesh and mind.  What happens in one area affects the other.  From the Hebrew perspective, every human being is a unified whole person, not a connected body, mind and soul.  That’s why the Old Testament places so much emphasis on action.  What happens inside shows up outside.  Out of a man’s heart comes his true character, demonstrated in observable behavior.

So, while it might be comforting to imagine a separation between body and mind, it isn’t biblical.  It might be nice to think that if I control my outward actions, if I don’t do anything, then my thoughts haven’t really materialized into sin.  That’s the view of our contemporary culture.  After all, you can’t arrest a man for thinking about robbing a bank.  But this is not God’s view.  The Bible is the only book of religious instruction that legislates what we can think about as well as what we can do.  From God’s perspective, righteousness extends to my thought life as well as my behavior.  I am not free to think about anything I want to.  That might be the Greek way, but it is not the Hebrew way.  There are some things that I am not supposed to think about at all.

Does that seem impossible?  If I tell you not to think about a red rabbit, the first thing that comes into your mind is a red rabbit.  You just thought about it.  You couldn’t help it.  Now you know why Paul says that God’s instructions were intended for our good, but they actually introduced us to what was evil.  The unintended consequence of “Do not commit adultery” is that I think about adultery.  How am I supposed to be righteous when all this seems to work against me?

Paul’s answer is found in the word “indulge.”  Thoughts will come into our minds.  The question is what direction we take those thoughts.  Do we play them over and over, or do we make them captive to the Christ?  Before we turned around, most of us had no control over our minds, but now we can, not because we have become supermen, but because we offer our thoughts on the altar.  It’s a daily exercise, isn’t it? (see Romans 12:11)

Topical Index:  Sin