Romans 8:5-6 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Springtime. Trees budding. Robins chirping. Flowers blooming. Students testing. Teachers stressing.
While the arrival of spring is eagerly anticipated by many, it is also a stressful time for those of us in public education. A third grader in Springfield Public Schools will take the following end-of-year tests before May 16: online tests in reading, language arts and math, the MAP tests in communication arts and math, a writing essay, a large end-of-year spelling test as well as various, smaller end-of-unit tests. This testing schedule is consistent with expectations for most grade levels above third grade as well.
Imagine the stress this places not only on the students, but teachers and administrators as well.
The struggle I face is finding that balance between focusing my thoughts and energies on what is demanded by school without allowing my "mind (to be) governed by the flesh".
When Paul wrote "the mind goverened by the flesh is death" he may have been referring to death in terms of an eternal separation from God. However, I know all too well when my mind becomes "goverened by the flesh" it leads to a more immediate death--the death of a good night's sleep, the death of a relaxed evening, the death of a worry-free weekend.
This life dictates that our minds will have to be focused much of the time on temporal concerns, plans and processes, but not allowing those to rule our thoughts is the key to "life and peace".
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