Is This What it Means to Set Our Mind on the Flesh?

The Problem with Defining “the Flesh” by Personal Feelings

Listen to what she lists as setting our minds on the flesh.

See, let's take job, for example.

Okay.

Job, for example.

I wanna be good at my job.

I want a job.

I don't have a job. I don't get paid enough money. Oh, I am good at my job.

I'm actually awesome.

In fact, I'm so good at my job that it brings me so much joy that I love my job. I found a lot of significance in my job. I lose my job. Okay, what's another one? Relationships, let's go with that. Okay, marriage.

I wanna get married.

There's no cute boys that are in love with Jesus. I met a mediumly cute boy, and he likes Jesus. Thanks, you're doing so good. And he likes Jesus. I marry that boy. I don't wanna be married. It's way harder than I thought.

I'm unhappy. Give me another one.

Parenting.

I want kids.

I don't want kids anymore. Give me another one. Social media, Twitter, they're mean. Instagram, they're pretty. I'm gonna watch Netflix. I'm gonna watch The Bachelor. There's three seasons of it on Netflix right now.

I wanna get married again. And here's the thing. That all feels a little bit harmless. Those are thoughts we think every day, or they bump up close to thoughts that we do think regularly about. But what Romans 8 says is that actually leads to sin and death.

Why Scripture, Not Audience Reactions, Must Define the Flesh

Now, this is very telling. She claimed that she received this analogy, shooting a basketball into two different hoops, from God, right? Then in implementing her analogy, she goes to the audience to give examples of what it means to pursue the flesh.

Let's think about this. Does God's written word of scripture give us clear teaching on what it means to walk in the flesh? Yes, it does. So why didn't she go to what God had already given to us instead of using some new analogy to receive from the audience what it means to set our minds on the flesh?

Don't you think if God was really involved in her planning, he would have told her to present what he taught from his word instead of to ask the audience? Well, I think so.

Why?

Because the audience gave a completely different answer from what God made clear in scripture. Wanting a job, wanting marriage, wanting children, being involved in social media, are the audience's ideas of fleshly desires and things.

The Doctrine of Vocation and the Goodness of Ordinary Callings

Now, social media, I can see, but these others. Now, at one point in my life, at a time when I was steeped in the purpose-driven gospel, these two would have been on my fleshly list. I would have labeled them as worldly and selfish while any service I dedicated to the church and others outside of my home would have been my spiritual service to God and, in my mind, been of more importance.

They were what I believed was helping God bring in his kingdom until I learned about a lost doctrine called the doctrine of vocation in which I learned about the beauty of the law and the role the spirit plays in the disciple in helping one keep the law in our vocations.

For a woman, the role the spirit plays in her calling as a wife, mother, worker from home, sister, daughter, neighbor, and friend. Now, in learning about this, I was brought to Galatians 5, 16 to 21. But I say, walk by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh, for the desires of the flesh are against the spirit, and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh, for those are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now, the works of the flesh are evident, sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.

I warn you as I warned you before that those who do such things will not inherent the kingdom of God. God is clear on what it looks like to walk in the flesh. It is to gratify the desires of the simple heart, the will to place our desires above those of God's word and will.

And God's word is clear on the role and good works of women in their vocation. And scripture is clear that if you desire marriage and children and even desire to have a job to support yourself or your family, these are not fleshly, but good.

Our flesh can rear its ugly head in these pursuits, but the word of God equips us to love God and love our neighbor through them.

Amen.