“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” – Romans 6:11
Left unchecked your flesh will try to run you over, take charge of your emotions, and promote laziness in your life. It will tell you that you’ve done too much, that you’ve already done more than anyone else, that you don’t need to do more than you’ve already done, and that you’re not as appreciated as you ought to be. Your flesh will advise you to kick back take it easy, and cut yourself some slack. It will scream that if anyone deserves to do nothing, it’s you.
Our flesh always tries to take everything to an extreme. If we allow it to control us, it will take us into a state of laziness that estates our entire outlook and destroys our productivity. We can lose joy, hope, victory, and even our reason for living. In the end, we will become weak, powerless, and void of the desire or energy to pursue anything, let alone the things God had for your life.
When our flesh rises and tempts us to be slothful about our dreams, our goals in life, or our relationship with God.
What should we do, when our flesh coaxes in into believing we are too poor, to stupid, too ugly, or too uninteresting, or too ‘run of the mill” to be used by God, how should we respond.
Do we cry and complain that we’re just not as talented as others? Should we grieve because we’re not as skinny as someone else? Should we whimper that we weren’t born into a more prestigious family? Of that, we were able to finish our education.
It’s time to tell our flesh to shut its loud mouth! Then grab hold of the power of God to change the way we think. As long as we allow that rank, stinking flesh to produce a “poor pitiful me” mentality, we will not make any significant contributions to the world. And that’s a pity because God wants to use you.
Instead of letting your flesh rule you, it time for you to do what Paul said in Romans 6:11,
“Likewise reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The one factor that does impact God’s ability to use us is our own disobedience to Him. Our hearts must be willing. We must take authority over the flesh that would take us down a lazy path. And we must yield our bodies to God’s Spirit as an instrument of righteousness.
That’s when we find ourselves on the path that leads us to being used by God.
From Pity to Praise 