by Jacob Ninan
Let us look at what happened when Adam and Eve fell. It was not just a simple matter of disobedience to God in eating the forbidden fruit. This particular fruit was from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God told them that if they ate it, they would die immediately (Gen.2:16,17). Satan told Eve not only that she would not die, but also that she could become like God by eating it (Gen.3:4,5). The implication was that once she ate it, she could have a personal knowledge of good and evil, or right and wrong, and that such knowledge would make her like God, an independent person without having to depend on God. This is the choice Eve, and later Adam, made, and it did not turn out the way they expected! God was the source of everything good and perfect, and independence from Him turned out to be the biggest loss they could have had. They 'died' immediately in terms of separation from God. From then on, things began to go bad. Their bodies began to degenerate, sickness came into the world, and the earth itself began to become a tough place to stay in. Without a connection with the Holy Spirit they began to get distorted and warped in their thinking, feeling and the way they made their decisions. Now our actions come from incomplete knowledge of things, a sinful tilt in the way we think and analyse things, and the negative feelings that rule our mind. Sometimes we go wrong because of the wrong ideas we have, and sometimes we go wrong even when our ideas are right, because of the pressure of our feelings of the moment.
Now we can see that salvation in terms of forgiveness of our sins is not complete. Sin will still rule over our lives, leading us to do wrong and foolish things. The apostle Paul learnt, "I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members" (Rom.7:21-23). Even after we have been born again, and even though now we want to be pleasing to the Lord in everything, the corruption that is in us because we have inherited the sinful nature from Adam and Eve tempts us all the time to do wrong. God wants to restore us to Him in every way, so that our thinking, feeling, choosing and doing will become right. It was not merely to forgive our sins but to save us from sin that Jesus came (Matt.1:21). This is the process of salvation referred to as sanctification which happens lifelong when we submit to God as the Holy Spirit works in us little by little. In this way, we can become free more and more from the corruption that is there in our thinking, feeling and doing.
Let us look at a few examples of the way we act based on wrong ideas, without realising that they are wrong. When problems appear to be too much for us to handle, we think that the way to deal with them is to get drunk and forget about them at least for some time. Another wrong way of thinking is to imagine that nothing bad will happen to us even when we do wrong, even though God warns us very clearly that there will be consequences to everything we do (Gal.6:7). A common mistake that Christians make is to think that God will take care of them entirely, while they are not taking any responsibility for their actions.
Feelings can be very misleading many times. One thing we hear commonly these days is someone saying he has started having feelings for another person, and then taking action accordingly even when what they are doing is ungodly. Sometimes when people feel a sexual attraction towards someone or a sexual urge, they think that it gives them an excuse to take action. There are many who feel like eating or not eating something, ignoring a rational way of making decisions. What do we do when we feel like giving up? A feeling that no one loves us or that we are a failure in life may compel us to even take our life.
Many times, painful experiences in our childhood can leave lifelong marks on the way we think or the way feel about ourselves. If we are always withdrawing from people or situations in an attempt to protect ourselves from the possibility of getting hurt, it may be that some earlier hurt is still hurting us. If we find ourselves trying to show others aggressively who we are, it may be that we may have felt ignored or neglected earlier. If we consider ourselves as a failure and find no hope for the future, that may have come from people who made us feel that way earlier. Some find it very difficult to trust anyone, some cannot bear to hear any word of correction, some want to violently protect themselves from having to face any fault in themselves, some hide their sadness behind artificial laughter, etc.
Just like we may suffer from physical illnesses disabilities of different types, the Fall has also caused different forms of classifiable mental illnesses. This is also a factor to be looked at when we face serious challenges with our thoughts, feelings or behaviour and also when we look at others. It is a very unrealistic position for us to take to imagine that as children of God we cannot have any such problems.
The first step when it comes to sanctification in the area of our thoughts and feelings is to admit the fact that we are all affected in our mind to lesser or larger extents as a result of the Fall. To deny this is to make way for increasing trouble for ourselves and those who have to deal with us. The second step is to teach ourselves to recognise specific ways in which we are thinking wrong and also allowing our feelings to control us. The Holy Spirit wants to help us here, and He uses many times His word to speak to us and give us understanding (Psa.119:11). Then, as He is working in us, we have to learn to work out our salvation (Php.2:12,13). When we fail, we cannot afford to give up, but we need to get up, learn from our mistakes and go forward. It is our full salvation and well-being that are at stake.
Let us not make things worse by blaming our parents or others for hurting us, or God for letting things happen to us. This kind of thinking will cause bitterness to develop in us that will make us more and more miserable and also stop us from ever going forward. We must forgive them, even if we think they don't deserve it (Lk.23:34). Remember how God has forgiven us, and also how our own behaviour has hurt people around us!
Let us not accept defeat even if it takes us a long time to overcome. God has explained that His goal for us is not to let sin have dominion over us (Rom.6:14). The grace He has prepared for us is sufficient so that we no longer need to feel under compulsion to sin (Rom.8:12). Even lifelong habits can now be broken. But now we need to recognise our own responsibility to overcome all these hindrances we may have in our life, with the help God wants to give us (Heb.12:4). Instead of expecting God to take away our problems, we must learn to use the grace that He gives us to exercise our will in the right way.
Look at the facts about the different forms of imperfection we are suffering from. We have done many kinds of sin and all of their consequences are now causing a drag on us. We have developed wrong ways of thinking and behaviour over the years which we now need to change. But even if we may feel hopeless about ever being able to change, this is what can encourage us – even now we can begin to learn to exercise our will in the right way with the help of God who wants to set us free. Let us not believe the voice of the Devil who wants us to feel hopeless and give up altogether.
Think about this. If we won't work out our own salvation, who will? Don't imagine that God will do it on His own without our cooperating with Him and doing what He tells us. He is working in us, and He wants us work it out in our thinking and behaviour. Then we will also learn how not to let our feelings dictate our behaviour.
Finally, think of the following verses as our target for the way we think and behave. "Let all that you do be done in love" (1Cor.16:14). "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves" (Php.2:3). "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more" (1Cor.9:19). "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1Cor.10:31). "Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" (1Pet.4:11). "Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly" (Rom.12:6).