Majoring in the Minors

Romans 7:14-25

New International Version (NIV)

 ¹⁴ We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

 ²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Majoring in the Minors (or “Getting the Lumps Out”)

On Sunday Pastor referred to non-Christians as having no constraints, nothing to tell them, “No, don’t do this.” And to all appearances, this is true. Atheists, agnostics, un-churched folks go around sinning left and right on national television, in the grocery stores, on the streets where we live.  They have no boundaries.

But, do they really have nothing telling them, “Don’t do this?”

According to C.S.Lewis, human beings do have a “law of human nature” hardwired in them:

     Everyone has heard people quarrelling. Sometimes it sounds funny and sometimes it sounds merely unpleasant; but however it sounds, I believe we can learn something very important from listening to the kinds of things they say. They say things like this “How’d you like it if anyone did the same to you?” — “That’s my seat, I was there first” — “Leave him alone, he isn’t doing you any harm” — “Why should you shove in first?” — “Give me a bit of your orange, I gave you a bit of mine” — “Come on, you promised.” People say things like that every day, educated people as well as uneducated, and children as well as grown-ups.

      Now what interests me about all these remarks is that the man who makes them is not merely saying that the other man’s behavior does not happen to please him. He is appealing to some kind of standard of behavior which he expects the other man to know about. And the other man very seldom replies: “To hell with your standard.” Nearly always he tries to make out that what he has been doing does not really go against the standard, or that if it does there is some special excuse. He pretends there is some special reason in this particular case why the person who took the seat first should not keep it, or that things were quite different when he was given the bit of orange, or that something has turned up which lets him off keeping his promise.  It looks, in fact very much as if both parties had in mind some kind of Law or Rule of fair play or decent behavior or morality or whatever you like to call it, about which they really agreed. And they have. If they had not, they might, of course, fight like animals, but they could not quarrel in the human sense of the word. Quarrelling means trying to show that the other man is in the wrong. And there would be no sense in trying to do that unless you and he had some sort of agreement as to what Right and Wrong are; just as there would be no sense in saying that a footballer had committed a foul unless there was some agreement about the rules of football. - "Mere Christianity"

Coming from the background of all three categories I mentioned before (atheist, agnostic & un-churched), I do know that I had something telling me the choices I was making were wrong.  But, I had the world telling me that these choices were OK.  I felt like a push-me-pull-you (that’s from the original Doctor Doolittle…yes I’m showing my age!).

Pastor also touched on the subject of major and minor sin. He didn’t use those exact words, but that little voice told me to write this down in response to what he was saying:

Major – We know the obvious as Christians (thou shalt not…). I think there at least 10 of those, yes?

Minor – Daily immersion in the Word reveals the minor.

My point being, Pastor made reference to the subtle sins that we commit every day:

Is it really only 50 miles an hour into the Country Estates?

Psst, so and so really needs your prayers.

He paid me cash, so there’s nothing to report to the IRS.

Stupid California drivers! Here’s your sign!

But, once again, he’s coming from a lifetime of immersion in the Word. Those subtle sins aren’t that obvious to beginning Christians (or sometimes to lifelong Christians).  It takes time with the Holy Spirit to refine that law that is hardwired into our souls.  The Spirit explains the “why” behind that feeling of right and wrong.  He whittles away at the alabaster block that is us, to reveal the beauty of who we were created to be.

We are all at different points in our refining process. I count my blessings that I’m starting to take some sort of shape; that many of the major chunks have been removed and my Lord’s Spirit is now working on the minor corrections.  At least I’m praying that is so. I’m seeing the more subtle sins for what they are.  I’m majoring in the minors, so to speak.  Well, the Holy Spirit is guiding me in the minors, let’s say.  I am not doing much of anything…except choosing to listen to His Word and His advice.

Yes, this was a very long way to say: Read your bible daily! J

Dear Lord, thank you so much for pushing and pulling me in your direction. Thank you for speaking to me words that my heart needs to hear. Thank you for all the wonderful people in my life who have shown me your heart as well. You have worked wonders and miracles in my life, both major and minor. A long time ago I wrote a Toastmasters Speech that I think was prophetic. I entitled it “Getting the Lumps Out.” It spoke of my life and how I had been so rough as a child and how I was growing more refined as an adult.  Little did I know, I had a long way to go, even then. Lo these many years later, I am still walking around with a bunch of pokey-outey edges, but each day that I spend with you wears them down and reveals your intended shape for me.  Thank you for this process! I love you. Amen.

Blessings and peace,

Leah