(Gal 5:16) I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
A fast food chain has used the slogan “Feed the Need” to sell it’s burgers and burritos. It is a commentary that in our nation, it has become a personal right to “feed the need” against any privation we might feel in any way we like. Our needs become our number one priority because the world teaches us the primacy of taking care of number one. But does the Bible teach us that we should “feed the need”?
The Bible tells us there is a different need to feed. It says we shouldn’t feed the old sinful nature, called the flesh, but the new nature whereby we can walk in the Spirit. Each day the battle rages on between these two appetites. If we “feed the need” of the flesh, then our old sinful nature will dominate our life. But if we “feed the need” of our new man then the Spirit of God will rule in us. (Eph 4:22-24)
How much of the time do we “feed the need” of the flesh? Just think about it. All day long we say “yes” to our bodily appetites and carnal desires. No wonder we so often live a lackluster Christian life, void of power to serve Christ, and feeble in our spiritual vitality. What should we do when our flesh says to “feed the need”? Paul said:
(1 Cor 9:27) But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
The apostle said there are times when you need to bring your body under subjection. In other words you don’t have to always “feed the need”! That might sound harsh and a person might say he has no power over these impulses, but Paul again said that the answer lies in walking in the Spirit. And as you do you won’t fulfill the desires of the sinful nature. Another way to put it is, “Don’t beat out the darkness, just turn on the light!” And the light is Jesus!
Let’s walk in the Spirit and feed the need there. Let us hunger and thirst after righteousness for we shall be filled (Mat 5:6). Then good fruits will issue forth from our life (James 3:17). As we do this the flesh will won’t clamor so much for our attention because it has been starved to the point of a dim and pathetic whisper.
(Psa 63:1) O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.
Louie