Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:11-12)I would imagine that most of us would nod and agree with this text ... without thinking much about it. I mean, sure, "abstain from fleshly lusts" ... we get it. Common message. We're on board. (Mostly.) But that's not what it says. Or, at least, not all it says. Note, first, the "beloved." This isn't some stern taskmaster demanding obedience. It is coming from the heart, coming from love. What it it? Peter had just explained that, while others trip over Christ (1 Peter 2:8), we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession," and that our job is to "proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). Before Christ we were "not a people" but in Christ we are "God's people" (1 Peter 2:10). In this state of being, then, we are "aliens and strangers." We are not at home in this world. We are in the world but not of it. And while we are here, we are under His care (John 17:15).
Most of us don't really live this way, do we? Maybe we try to "abstain from fleshly lusts," but, really, who doesn't like a little pleasure in life? Who doesn't like fame and fortune, worldly pleasures, fun, comfort, you name it? So we "abstain from fleshly lusts" mostly ... but we dance at the edges, at least. A little now and then can't hurt. We're only human. And God says these fleshly lusts "wage war against the soul." Now, that can't be a good thing. So the very first place to look is who we are. We are not earthlings, so to speak. This world is not our home. Don't get too comfortable. We're not planning on staying. Keep your bags packed, as it were, because this is very temporary. Short term. We're going somewhere else ... for eternity.
That's where it starts for us. We're temporarily here, so, we need to guard our desires. Don't buy the cheesy commercials -- "You deserve a break today." We have better things to do. What, then? Remember why we're here, albeit temporarily. We're here to bring glory to God. We're here to show others how glorious our God is. We're here so that unbelievers may glorify God. So if we're guarding our desires away from fleshly lusts, we must be headed toward good deeds that glorify God. It's a full time task in a temporary existence. It's much bigger than "don't be bad." Instead, show how good God is because we're just passing through.
We are really good at taking solid theological ideas and losing them in the mundane. We've had slogans like "WWJD" and "This world is not my home", that in their origin were good things, but as they passed into the normal background of life, they lost their true meaning and simply became catchphrases. This is why we need to continuingly be renewing our minds.
ReplyDeleteThe title of today’s post made me think immediately of another New Testament reference to “temporary housing,” where in 2 Cor. 5:1, Paul compares his current body--a “tent” or temporary housing--to the permanent “building from God,” in which he will dwell for eternity. I see a clear connection between this notion and your reminder not to get too comfortable in this world, for we are just passing through, with only temporary housing here.
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