Day 2
Sunday, March 7
The Way Through Instinctive Temptation
Instinct is defined as an innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli. In other words, these are behaviors or practices that come about naturally. No one has to tell a bird to build a nest (or even how to build it). If they are migratory, no one has to convince them to fly south for the winter. Instinct kicks in; they know what they must do and how they must do it.
We as humans sometimes forget that we have instinctual habits (the Bible refers to this as “the flesh”). These habits are part of our everyday lives; as a result, we can fall trap to these instincts and impulses. For instance, when we get hungry, our instinct pushes us to eat… but we can so often fall into a habit of overeating or eating unhealthily. The instinct of desire kicks in, and because we see something we want, we will go about getting it by any means necessary (even if it is hurtful or wrong).
Unfortunately, human instinct does not lean us toward God; when we give in to our instincts, they will almost always lean us away from God. Giving in to our instinctive impulses will satisfy for the short term, but this will always leave us wanting more (or worse, cause us to develop unhealthy and detrimental habits). In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul gives us a list that includes not only our instinctive, destructive habits but also the practices that lead us away from falling into those traps. Today, make a decision: not only to be aware of those things that so easily pull you in, but also to know which characteristic of the Spirit that will help you combat it. Then, put that into practice.
-Curt Snyder
Bible Reading for the Day:
Think and Act:
1. What are those instinctive behaviors that you struggle with personally? Bring those to God in prayer today, asking for His help to overcome them.
2. Which of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23 do you need to combat the behaviors you listed from Question 1? How can knowing those characteristics help you to overcome these instinctive behaviors today?