Romans 7:13-25
Paul’s section today hits home for me. His thoughts that I read today sound a lot like addiction – not necessarily alcohol or drug or sex addictions to which (I trust) most of us cannot really relate, but to other common addictions “out there”, like gambling, pornography, computer games – even everyday behaviors like shopping or eating or watching television.
I’ve been attending Freedom Road, our St. Andrew’s 12-Step program, for a couple of years now. I brew beer, I like beer, and I began to wonder if I might be an alcoholic. Over time the people attending Freedom Road with me have agreed that I am not an alcoholic. But I do have something of an addiction – to food, in general, and to sweets in particular. So my “beer problem” is essentially a food problem. I find that I am almost always “hungry”. Not true!! In fact, I am not truly hungry, but I have more of a food habit, and if I’m not really busy with work or leisure of some sort, I’m regularly looking for something to snack on. So my beer problem is really a special case of a more general food problem.
All of which brings me to today’s reading… The behavior that Paul describes fits my and others’ addiction patterns: I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (v. 15b) I am tempted to eat. Occasionally I resist the temptation, but all too often I just let it fly and have another snack. And Paul’s response is exactly my response some time later: Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (v. 24) And we know the answer. Paul gives us the answer: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (v. 25) Then why is it still so hard??!!
Slava Bohu!
Because Satan is crafty; he sees what is each one of our Achilles’ heel. Mine is more sloth, sitting around (other than chips, of course).