November 20 – Anatomy of a Surrender: Lies (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1)

“What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?”(2 Corinthians 6:16)

IN WORD:
We know the solution to our idolatry. We are to surrender it and trust ourselves to God. But knowledge isn’t our problem. Knowing what to do and actually doing it are separate issues. One is intellectual, the other is a matter of the will. We let our desires influence our level of surrender. We think we want to obey God, but we don’t really want to. At least not in those areas we zealously guard. You know what your weaknesses are. Everyone knows their besetting sins because everyone has them.
Everyone also knows the games we play to justify our idols. We make excuses for them. Maybe we can argue that they’re physical addictions or emotional wounds, not spiritual issues. Maybe we can convince ourselves that our flaws can somehow be useful in ministering to others one day. Maybe we excuse ourselves from “borderline” sins because “we’re only human,” or we don’t want to be “holier than thou,” or we need to relate to “the real world.” Or perhaps we simply take for granted the grace that is greater than all our sins.
What is behind this desperate attempt to hang on to our idols? Simmering underneath this struggle is a subtle suspicion that we will have to take care of our own needs because God won’t. As much as we want to be obedient and submissive to God, we like our sins. They do something for us that we’re afraid god won’t do. We think we find “life” in them. We think we might be more fulfilled if we take a few small matters into our own hands. So, we hang on, and we try to convince ourselves and our God that we’re justified in doing so, or at least more justified than most people. But God is not convinced.

IN DEED:
We need to dispense with the lies and cut to the chase. Our flaws, addictions, hang-ups, and other issues are sin. Disobedience. Hindrances to the abundant life that God promises. The longer we try to convince ourselves otherwise, the longer we prolong the pain of surrender and postpone the amazing blessings of the surrendered life.

“Obedience means marching right on whether we feel like it or not.” -D. L. Moody-