The Sunday Mail
I pray you are well and ready to be used by God as He reveals His plan for your life.
Pastor Tinashe Zinyemba
The subject of lust is so broad and wide ranging, we revisit it again this week.
Previously, we stated that the flesh is actually a spirit. The apostle Paul said in Galatians 5 vs 16, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
Christians will understand that this means being sensitive to the Holy Spirit and responding to the voice of your conscience. Dealing with the flesh takes a lot of discipline, particularly when you have already indulged in some activities. However it can be done where there is commitment.
Lust is a deep craving or yearning for something forbidden.
The apostle Paul said to his son Timothy in 2Timothy 2vs 22, “Flee youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
There is an interesting situation that we can use as an example for our discussion this week, it focusses on pride. In 1 Kings 12, Rehoboam the son of Solomon had just been anointed king after his father’s death. The nation came to him asking for the king to reduce taxes and make life easier for them since the nation was in a good place financially.
Rehoboam consulted firstly with the elders that used to consult his father, after hearing their advice he then went to consult his friends or peers and they also gave him advice. Guess what Rehoboam did, he listened to his peers.
1 Kings 12 vs 13 says, “And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him.” After this the kingdom was split into two and there was a civil war that broke, that one decision and action destroyed all the work of Saul, David and Solomon. Israel did not reunite until 1948 . . . Imagine that one act of pride and immaturity was responsible for the nation falling into recession, tribal war and eventually slavery for over 4 000 years.
There has always been a rift between the youth and the elderly, mainly because of a lack of understanding between the two generations, that is parents and their children.
Many times when the elderly address the youth, it is with a condescending tone (that is you are young and do not know anything) while the youths believe that the elderly have got no clue whatsoever about what is going on.
Pride is an unreasonable self-esteem, when one believes they know it all. Most times our elders speak from experience and most times our youths speak out of a desire of being recognised and this boarders on pride.
Solomon said in Proverbs 16vs18, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
Usually pride is associated with material things. For instance, many young people view success as having a job that pays a lot of money, or maybe success is having a big house, a big car, wearing the latest fashion trends and so forth.
As much as all things might be good, the devil uses them as tools to entrap many youths. In Matthew 4 and Luke 4 for example, Jesus is tempted by the devil, He is taken on top of a very high mountain where the devil shows Him, “ . . . all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them . . . ”
In Matthew 4 vs 9, the devil says to Jesus, “ . . . All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”
Most times to get the affluence and the things that we want, there is almost always a compromise that one must reach. 1 John 2 vs 16 calls it the pride of life. That is what Adam and Eve did in the garden when they chose to eat the fruit because of what the devil said to Eve and consequently what Eve said to Adam.
Another example is found in Daniel 3 where we find three Hebrew boys – Shadreck, Misheck and Abednego. They refused to compromise their integrity in order to look good in front of their friends and the king. Even more so, they were willing to die for upholding their principles and belief in God.
The pride of life will make you think more highly of yourself and your current circumstance than it really is. You will do things in the moment that you will forever regret. There is a reason for some of the moral/spiritual/cultural laws that we found when we arrived here on Earth.
It is essential to realise that you do not know everything. One must always be adventurous and be willing to take risks. However, the successful entrepreneur is the one who takes CALCULATED risks.
This means fully understanding your limitations and your environment as well as gathering as much information as possible about your situation.
The solution for pride and avoiding your downfall is a deliberate act of humility and diligence in applying yourself to life’s disciplines. Your chance to be elevated will come, pay the price today and you will enjoy tomorrow. Pay now and play later. That is all for now. God bless.
Tinashe Zinyemba is a pastor with New Life Covenant Church. Email feedback at [email protected]
