Dear Christian, Your Flesh Is Here to Stay!

As a Christian, understanding what comes from your flesh is crucial. Behaviours, attitudes, thoughts and actions that stem from mere fleshly desires must be recognised to be addressed. It’s also important to recognise when a behaviour is becoming addictive. This could be anything, even something as basic as sleep. Sometimes, we may need to temporarily cut certain things off to prevent them from becoming addictions.

Unfortunately, we can’t escape our flesh or ask God to remove it. We can only train it. That’s why I believe discipline is one of the most vital skills to instil in a child. Adults may struggle to set limits on their bodies if they weren’t taught to do so as children. Every aspect related to the body needs boundaries.

As adults, discipline is challenging but essential for self-care. Choosing not to act on impulses, even when there are no immediate consequences, is a sign of strength. You have to exert control over your flesh, or it will control you. Every action either nourishes or weakens a behaviour or pattern. Some actions unknowingly reinforce patterns.

Many, like Paul, have pleaded with God to remove a persistent struggle. Yet God’s answer to Paul was that His grace is sufficient. We receive grace to discipline ourselves regarding those desires. Our flesh is our responsibility, not God’s.

In our journey of faith and spiritual growth, we must not identify with sin. Having sinned or struggling with sin doesn’t define us. Reject the identity of sin. Work on strengthening your spirit until it dominates your flesh. Consistency is key: no excuses, retreats or surrender. Over time, you’ll begin to live according to the life you want to create, and everything else will align with it.

Discipline is leadership turned inward: countless small choices that uphold the standard when no one is watching.