Following is a talk given at a Fall 2006 Adoration service, with a story about a man who wiretapped his son and an encouragement from Augustine to quit following the lead of the flesh. Read on...
16Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.
Galatians 5:16-25
Alright, I get it. Flesh is at war with Spirit, and it’s hard to be the person you really want to be. So how do you overcome the power and allure of the flesh, that big long list of nasty stuff with which we all struggle–idolatry, hatred, strife, jealousy, anger, fighting, envy, drunkenness, and the craziness all that evil invites? How do we live a life bearing those wonderful fruits of the Spirit we all really want to be known for: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, self-control etc. etc?
For a young man named Thomas, the desire to change didn’t come quickly. Thomas was a high school kid in Los Angeles when his parents got concerned about his falling grades and insolent, cagey behavior. When your kid, who is normally pretty bright, starts flunking PE, something very bad is happening. His daily practice of smoking weed with his friends led to harder stuff. He began to lie and he steal money from his parents and neighbors.
Thomas’s father decided to take drastic action. He bought a voice activated tape recorder and began taping all his son’s conversations...many of which were long and excruciatingly stupid. “So Dude, whacha doin?
