Not Me, but Thee August 13, 2018 Romans 8:5

¹⁵ For I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.   (Romans 7:15 ESV)

³ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  (Romans 8:3 ESV)

or I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

Since my retirement on the first of July, I have discovered two things.  First, that it is not difficult to find many things to fill one's time.  Second, although there are many hour-filling options, not all of those are fulfilling.

Over these past 10-weeks, I have discovered some very interesting PBS and BBC shows on Amazon Prime and have spent far too many hours streaming "DCI Banks", "Dickensian",  and "Banished".  On several occasions as I have entered my second or third hour of continual viewing, I told myself, "There are other things you should be doing", but I have continued to select the watch-the-next-episode option on my tablet.

Through prayer, God brought me to these two verses from Romans.  Like Paul, there are times I struggle with doing what is fight and not doing what is wrong.  In the seventh chapter of Romans, Paul spends a great deal of time lamenting the fact that the law condemns and as a result, he continues to struggle with sin.  It is not a very encouraging chapter.  Thankfully, Paul does not quit writing at the end of chapter seven.

The first two verses of Romans 8 pull Paul and his readers out of the bleakness created by the condemnation of the law.  "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." (Rom. 8:1,2 ESV)  It is through the indwelling the Holy Spirit are we able to resist the pull of sin and disobedience.  We can never live a sinless life and obey the law to perfection.  But through the sacrifice of Jesus, perfection on our part is not required.  

But this knowledge alone was not particularly helpful in my struggle against using my retirement hours wisely.  Verse three, however, will be a useful tool in helping me use my retirement hours.  

I have been asking the wrong question.  "What should I do?" places the the decision focus on me.  It assumes two things.  First, that I know a better way to spend my time.  Second, that I will have the discipline to do it.

The correct question