A transition of power

 But don’t let sin control your life here on earth. You must not be ruled by the things your sinful self makes you want to do. Don’t offer the parts of your body to serve sin. Don’t use your bodies to do evil, but offer yourselves to God, as people who have died and now live. Offer the parts of your body to God to be used for doing good. Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God’s grace. (Romans 6:12-14)

To be controlled is to be dominated by someone or something. We can be controlled by 'things' as easily as we can be controlled by another person. We can also be controlled by thoughts, emotions, and even desires. Perhaps this is why it is so important to be constantly aware of who or what is exerting control over our lives - giving direction to our lives. When we are allowing control to anyone or anything other than Christ, we are in danger of being controlled by what could bring us harm. That which has 'direction over' our lives will either move us in the right direction, bringing positive change, or it will drive us further into depravity.

How unwise is it to be controlled by our own desires? Those desires are more than a bit selfish, aren't they? They might not seem that way at first, but given time and enough space in our lives, those desires can lead us into all manner of compromising choices. They are more than 'mistakes' we make, or lapses in judgment - they become a pattern. Patterns of behavior that elevate self, focus on what pleasures self, or what belittles others are never good patterns. Self has a way of directing our lives down paths we might not have explored until we gave self a place of dominant focus. As our scripture aptly points out, we offer ourselves to sin. We actually allow the domination of our minds, hearts, and souls even when we are passive. Not paying attention to choices we make is as dangerous as consciously making them!

The good news is that self doesn't have to be the master of our lives. The 'transition of power' within our lives will not come as easily as we might want it to, but whenever we make a conscious decision to serve Christ, put him first in our lives, and then seek his wisdom with our choices, the 'transition of power' begins to occur. We lean into him, seeking his wisdom and his power, and we find our 'power', 'wisdom', and 'strength' pale in comparison. We soon become dissatisfied with those things that once held our attention and seemed to be so important for us to pursue. Why? The transition of power is bringing less and less reliance and trust in our self (fleshly desires). We might long for the 'transition' to be complete, but as long as we are experiencing even gradual progress in that direction, we are on the right path! Just saying!