Knowing what to do, but not doing it

When will I learn? When oh when will I learn that I have to save the data on my computer?

On Tuesday, when I left the church office to head for home, I had this Sunday’s sermon approximately 75% completed. A few finishing touches, a few humorous anecdotes, maybe a nice little illustration and Sunday’s sermon would be wrapped up. I’m not sure that Mrs. McCleery would have given me an “A+++” for the sermon or not, but it was going quite nicely. (Mrs. McCleery, a former school teacher, is the greatest encourager I have ever known and when she likes a sermon she grabs my hand with both of her hands and says, “Oh Pastor, that sermon was an A+++!” It makes me feel good when Mrs. McCleery gives me an A+++.) But we’ll never, ever know if that sermon was an A+++ because something happened. Something terrible happened.

It happened in the thirteen and one half hours that I was away from my computer. Sometime between my leaving at 5 PM on Tuesday afternoon and arriving at 6:30 AM on Wednesday morning something terrible happened. While I was cheering the Tigers onto victory over the Oakland A’s, my computer decided it was time to shut down. I don’t know if there was a power surge, an electricity outage, or maybe an evil terrorist or disgruntled Yankee fan broke into the church and turned off my computer. All I know is that when I arrived on Wednesday morning my computer was off. My sermon was gone. And now, I am back at square one.

To quote Charlie Brown just as Lucy is moving the football away from him during football kicking practice, “UGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” (Incidentally, that is the same noise made by Yankee fans last week and Oakland A’s fans this week, and hopefully, St. Louis Cardinal fans next week after the Detroit Tigers give them a beatin’!)

I wish I could say that I learned a lesson in all of this. But I already knew the lesson I was suppose to learn. To quote Lucy, “Always save your data, blockhead.” I knew it. I just didn’t do it. I repeat, UGHHHHHHH!!!!!

A lot of people approach their spiritual life with the same recklessness. They know what they are supposed to do, but they don’t do it. They know they are supposed to spend time with God, but they don’t find the time. They know they are supposed to be sacrificial in their giving, in their attitudes, and in their life. But sacrifice is hard in this me-first world in which we live. They know they should avoid gossip, anger, self centeredness, “even the hint of sexual immorality,” and other non Christ-like behaviors and yet they find themselves falling into the same old patterns and the same old habits and the same old same old. They know what they need to do, but they just don’t do it.

There’s a powerful moment in Tolstoy’s War and Peace when Pierre, the main character, shakes his fist at the sky and says, “Why is it that I know what is right and do what is wrong?” The Apostle Paul talks of the same battle within in Romans 7 when he says, “I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate… I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am!” (Romans 7:15, 18-24)

There are a lot of people who know exactly what Paul is talking about. They know exactly how miserable it is to know what to do, and yet find themselves not doing it. Like me knowing that I need to save my data on my computer, but not saving it. They know they want to love God and serve him. They want to be completely His. But seemingly every time the slightest temptation comes around, it’s back to the same old patterns and all those wonderful promises and commitments made to God are out the window. Have you been there? Are you there right now?

Had Paul stopped at the end of Romans 7, we who truly long to live a holy, God-pleasing life would be in real trouble. Had he simply ended with how miserable he was in this condition of knowing what to do but not doing it-- there would not be much hope for victorious living.

But he didn’t stop there. Paul goes on to ask, “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 7:24-25). Jesus can enable us to not only know what to do, but to actually do it!

He goes on in Romans 8 to write, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin… you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you… The Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.” (Did you read that? We are under no obligation to do what the sinful nature urges us to do!) “For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.” (Romans 8:1, 9, 10-13).

What an awesome truth! The Power of the Spirit is more powerful than any sin! When the Spirit of God is living within us, He empowers and enables victorious living. He puts an end to the control of the sinful nature, when we give the control of our lives over to Him. In other words, through the Spirit we can know what to do and actually do it! We do not have to be doomed to a roller coaster type of Christian walk. Up one moment, down the next. Through the Spirit of God we can know God’s will and actually do God’s will.

What a lesson! It won’t bring back Sunday’s sermon from cyber-nothingness, but Christ can bring victory and enable us to truly live a wonderful, God-pleasing and holy life.