"Matters of the Mind (Sins of the flesh #2)" - Amy Lawrence

Matters of the Mind

Sins of the Flesh #2

As we all survive this thing we call life, our experiences and the choices we make during our experiences mold our minds and thus our characters. I think we all can agree that the mind is a powerful thing. As the human race has advanced in technology, medicine, and science, all of the above has made such an impact on the length of this existence. Unfortunately, this existence has a terminus. Death is inevitable. James wrote, “What is your life? It is but a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14) In the end, what matters?

A war is being waged as we speak; a war for our minds. Some might picture this by the old cartoon maxim, with Mephistopheles sitting on one shoulder while an angel, bedecked with wings and a halo, perches on the other; both sides are whispering in our ear trying to convince us while we make a choice. That is, of course, just an illustration of an idea, one that is often misrepresented to the populous. Despite the fiction that is varying and prominent, we who are interested in truth seek out truth. I hope that is your motivation as we study these topics.

There are two forces fighting for our minds. Satan sits at the forefront of the side of evil. He is cunning, Gen. 3:1, deceptive, 2 Cor. 11:12-15, and he has an arsenal of weapons - all aimed at us, 2 Cor. 2:11, Eph. 6:11. HIs goal is to grieve God by hurting US, Job 1:6-12. He casts his three-fold net (lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, 1 Jn. 2:16) and sees who he can snare. Satan’s goal is to accrue as much company as he can, saving a seat for everyone in eternal punishment. Yes, Satan is fighting for our minds. But so is God. He fights for us, Ex. 14:14, He fights with us, Heb. 13:5, and He provides us with both defensive and offensive tools to defeat that old serpent, Eph. 6:10-17. The battlefield is the mind, and the helmet of salvation is given to shore up our ability to withstand Satan’s fiery darts. But…will a helmet do us any good if we don’t wear it? In the Christian armor, there is only one offensive tool: the sword, Eph. 6:17. A good sword is sharp, but the word of God is sharper, and two-edged, Heb. 4:12, so it cuts both coming and going. But will a sword help us if we don’t know how to use it? Paul told Timothy to “…be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,” 2 Tim. 2:15. We as soldiers of Christ have a responsibility to learn to use the equipment He has provided in order to withstand Satan.

As I said before, the mind - the conscience - is the battlefield. Many incorrectly assume that this war against the Devil is a physical war - but it’s not. It is spiritual, Eph. 6:12. Our conscience is ever growing, ever changing. It takes time and training for a mind to become either carnal or spiritual, Rom. 8, but the great thing is that we get to decide which it becomes. Paul would state in chapter 7 of Romans that the war within himself was that of the flesh against the spirit. We all have these two wolves fighting within us. The wolf that wins is the one we feed. We’re studying sins of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21), and so we’ve been discussing first the junk food that the majority feed their wolves.

In my last article, we discussed the first four of the fleshly sins found in Galatians 5:19-21: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, and lewdness. In this article, I’d like to study the next two on the list: idolatry and sorcery.

What is idolatry? Colossians 3:5 tells us that idolatry is covetousness. What is covetousness? The best description scripture gives of covetousness is found in the book of Exodus. The children of Israel left Egypt following God. As one studies their journey, though, one learns that their hearts remained in Egypt, Ex. 14:11-12; 16:3; 17:3; 32:1. Covetousness is a deep-seated dedication to or longing for something that we shouldn’t desire, something that distracts our hearts from following God. Their distraction was idolatry, but idolatry can be anything from worshipping a false god to worshipping athletics, money, beauty, sexual preferences, etc. Satan will throw everything he can at us to get our minds to lose focus on God.

What is sorcery? To understand this, we have to do a bit of a history lesson of the nations that surrounded Israel…but before we get into that, let me ask some questions: did Harry Houdini really walk straight through a solid brick wall? Did David Copperfield really make the Statue of Liberty disappear? Could Derren Brown or David Berglas really control others’ minds or predict lottery numbers? We have people today that are talented with misdirection, illusion, elaborate engineering, psychology, and trickery. We call them “magicians”. They leave audiences stunned at what is seemingly unexplainable, all the while remaining within the limits of this physical existence.

I say all of this to help anyone reading to understand that illusionists are not exclusive to just the last few centuries. One can find illusionists in scripture. Words that scripture uses to illustrate this type of person are: magician, Gen. 41:8, diviner, Num. 22:7, medium, Lev. 20:27, astrologer, Is. 47:13, soothsayer, Is. 2:6, sorcerer, Acts 13:6,8, or wizard, Is. 8:19. I also mentioned before that a bit of a crash course in Israel’s history would be needed in order to understand. Before I lose your attention, what we need to know is summarized in 2 Chr. 33. Manasseh is recorded to be one of the worst kings of Judah. As you read this chapter, you learn of what Manasseh did to make him so terrible. He practiced “the abominations of the heathen”, worshipping the false gods of the surrounding nations. This worship included the use of divinations that God explicitly commanded against, Deut. 18:9-14. As we can see, sorcery has dangerous roots.

As sorcery (and any form of divination) is illusory, what could have made people in the 1st century believe what they were seeing and/or hearing, even though it was a trick? This answer can be found in the original Greek word for “sorcery” in Gal. 5:20: φαρμακεία (pharmakeia). We have an English word that is very similar to this word. Even in the culture of this day and age, we all know that a pharmacy is where we acquire drugs (legally, of course). One really must bear in mind, though, that drugs were not widely understood in the 1st century. Many that did understand them used them in harmful, selfish ways. Persons such as this were called “sorcerers”. Some of the drugs used were hallucinatory drugs from sources such as mandrake, opium, or certain mushrooms. Fermented drink would also be included. These would be used to alter the mind of a person before an audience, giving those watching a show. Drugs were also used as “cures” for varying illnesses, but the “cure” would only last so long and the ailing person would return for more. Addiction was as real then as it is now.

I feel I need to make something very clear before we move on. There are some that hold to this idea that reading fictional books such as Harry Potter, the Chronicles of Narnia, or the DaVinci Code is sinful. These written works are called fiction by their authors. They are not advertised as truth, but some try and make them so. I do not hold to the idea that it is wrong to read them nor do I entertain the notion that they are non-fiction. They are fantastical stories written to entertain. Nothing more. There are, however, minds that do believe that magic is real. They practice visiting fortune-tellers, check their horoscope daily, or allow other superstitions to guide their lives. Such beliefs are dangerous and warned against in scripture, and for good reason. Putting our faith in illusion, coincidence, and superstition takes faith away from God.

It matters what we put into our minds as much as it matters what comes out - because what we allow in determines what it will produce. A mind that receives garbage will produce garbage. A mind that receives intelligent health will produce intelligent health. One of the many things I love about the word of God is that it has an answer to every question I’ve ever asked or will ever ask God. How are we to know the ways to keep our mind healthy that are God-approved? The answer can be found in Phil. 4:4-9.

Our daily battle against the prince of this world is frequently exhausting…but Jesus promised that overcoming ends with rewards. Jesus will:

-give us fruit from the tree of life, which is in the middle of Paradise, Rev. 2:7.

-keep us from suffering the second death, Rev. 2:11.

-allow us to eat of the hidden manna and give us a name all our own, Rev. 2:17.

-give us the power over nations, just as He was given by God, Rev. 2:26-28

-clothe us in white, show us our name written in the Book of Life, and confess that He knows us before God the Father, Rev. 3:5.

-secure us a place we will never wish to leave - and never have to, Rev. 3:12.

-grant us the privilege of sitting on a throne next God the Father and His Son, Rev. 3:21.
We can also trust that it can be done, because we have the perfect Example to look to when we get discouraged: Jesus, Heb. 12:1-2.

Everything we are has to be rooted in God before we can grow in God, Mk. 12:30. I can confidently attest to the fact that dedication to this will direct one’s life in a way that shows what Christ meant when He called this life “abundant”, John 10:10. I have an abundant life; not because I have money, family, health, and more, but because putting God first has blessed me with all of the above. If I can do it, so can you. Put God first. Everything you need will follow, Mt. 6:33.