I've been writing a lot on here lately about God working in my life to humble me. This is an ongoing struggle that I know will continue for the rest of my life. After all, at the root of all sin is pride. Pride in exalting myself above God and stealing glory that rightly belongs to Him. God is the only being who is worthy of all glory and devotion, and when I give my heart over to something else...I'm communicating that I believe this other thing can be my savior. I'm worshiping something else besides the One who alone is worthy of worship. I'm essentially worshiping myself...and this is the height of pride.
I've talked about how this has been especially seen in my marriage lately in that when things don't go my way, I have a pity party for myself and withdraw from my wife. How selfish and childish this is!
Well, recently God brought two texts to bear on my life in reminding me of just how silly this pride and selfishness is.
The first text he brought me to was 1 Cor. 7:4. This text says, "For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does" (ESV). In the context Paul is speaking about sex specifically, but it reminded me just in general that my body does not belong to myself. When Rachel and I got married, my body became hers. When I live to serve myself, and to pursue my own selfish desires, I'm taking what does not belong to me.
But this led me also to remember another text that speaks of who I belong to even before my wife. "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (1 Cor. 6:19-20, ESV).
Whenever I live for my own glory...and my own selfish desires...I'm not only stealing from my wife what does not belong to me...more importantly...I'm stealing from God what does not belong to me. I was raised in a Christian home, and so I heard that text in 1 Corinthians 6 read so many times during my life, but God really took this truth and hammered it down deep into my heart in ways that it never had been before.
So, whenever I'm tempted to sin, I need to be reminded, that I'm being tempted to steal what does not belong to me. Will I and do I still sin? Yes, absolutely...I would be a liar if I said anything differently (1 John 1:10). But God just used these two text to continue to His process of progressive sanctification in my life. I'm so thankful for the work He does in my me every day.
Also, on an unrelated note, we found out we're having a baby girl! Here are two of the ultrasound pics for you to enjoy, and a video from our gender reveal party. :)
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