The Works Of The Flesh

Ever wondered about the clash between our highest ideals and our daily struggles?

How can we truly live a life of integrity amidst a culture driven by selfish ambition?

Why is it that we often find ourselves swayed by old habits even when we’re reaching for something better?

Eugene Peterson, in his paraphrase of Galatians 5:19–21, The Message, puts it bluntly:

“It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community.”

A mirror held up to the inner turmoil we all wrestle with.

These behaviors can slowly warp and poison lives — infecting relationships, ambitions, and even our perception of ourselves.

Repetitive, loveless, cheap sex erodes the sacredness of intimacy.

Frenzied grabs for happiness never deliver lasting joy, leaving behind empty hearts and numbed souls.

Ugly parodies of community fracture relationships, reducing friendships to strategic alliances and people to pawns.

The fruit of darkness — self-centered ambition, greed, and fear — destroys lives from the inside out.

But Paul doesn’t stop there.

Instead, he invites us to turn toward the fruit of the Spirit — qualities that will grow in us if we allow them:

Love that embraces rather than exploits.

Joy that can’t be taken by circumstance.

Peace that flows even through life’s storms.

Patience to endure and hope for better things.

Kindness that speaks with compassion.

Goodness that seeks the benefit of others.

Faithfulness that keeps promises.

Gentleness that soothes rather than stirs up conflict.

Self-control that disciplines desires rather than being mastered by them.

The contrast couldn’t be clearer.

The invitation is open — what will we choose to cultivate?

When we surrender to the Spirit, the light of Christ works within us to root out darkness and plant life where decay once reigned.

In Jesus, we find integrity, purpose, and fulfillment.

A new life emerges, one marked not by the rot of ambition but by the beauty of selfless love.