“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves for God the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.” Romans 6:21, 22 (ESV)

What are you a slave to? The answer lies in who or what you are more accustomed to letting control you. Are you used to doing whatever you feel like with no regard to God or other people or are you more accustomed to serving God and in turn serving others? If you are a believer, you are given a greater responsibility in life to serve God and stop serving yourself. Christ paid for your salvation in order that you would stop living for yourself and start living for God.

“But thank God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you have committed. And having become free from sin, you have become the slaves of righteousness [of conformity to God’s will and purpose].” Romans 6:16, 17 (AMP)

            I have struggled with living for myself for 6 years in trying to walk with the Holy Spirit. Living for myself made me miserable and I wasn’t really helping anyone but myself. If I can be honest, I wasn’t even helping myself even though I thought I was. It is only when I truly surrendered myself to God that I unexplainably start being full of joy, confidence and love. The Holy Spirit starts flowing through me and words start coming out when I’m talking to other people that surprise me.

Speaking on the things of God and how He really is becomes easier. You stop focusing so much on yourself and more on what is pleasing to God. You start to have a heart for people and start to see them the way God sees them. You stop being so conceited and start being humbler towards God and others. Things start clicking that didn’t click before. Life starts making more sense and becomes less chaotic, except when the enemy pushes back trying to thwart your belief in God’s promises. I have started to see when God gives you a promise, the enemy comes after you hard trying to dissuade you from whatever God has told or shown you.

“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.” Matthew 13:19 (NKJV)

It has been proven scientifically that people who live for their best interests are more miserable than people who live for the interests of others. “Loneliness kills. It’s as powerful as smoking or alcoholism,” said Robert Waldinger, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. If you don’t stay plugged in to a body of believers, the enemy starts to take advantage of that and makes it harder for you to function. With me, I have come to find that the more isolated I get, the less I want to talk to people or be around them. I also start to get tired and ridden with sleepiness and depression. It is a spiritual battle that cannot be won by yourself. It requires God and community.

When we start to believe and perceive that we are the righteousness of God in Christ, something starts to shift. We stop behaving like who we were before when we realize what we carry on the inside of us: Holy Spirit. With Holy Spirit, all things are possible. Someone who used to be lazy and unmotivated can become someone who is diligent, prudent and successful in everything they put their hand to. The only problem is, you must listen to His promptings and walk in obedience. Without obedience, you are walking in unbelief, and your life will pretty much stay the same and you’ll be miserable. That’s why so many people stay the same rather than let Holy Spirit transform them into the new creation that they are the moment Holy Spirit starts to dwell in them.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

It would be a crazy thing to argue with an inventor about how something they created worked or could work more efficiently. So why do we argue with God about walking in obedience to the things He asks of us? I am guilty of this as I’m sure a lot of stubborn-willed people are. But when I start to walk in obedience, OH MY! The change that overtakes me is incredible!

“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ Isaiah 45:9 (NLT)

            This battle of the flesh versus walking in the Spirit is a war that is going to rage on for the rest of our lives. There is no getting around it, there is only getting better at telling the flesh “no” and the Spirit “yes!” Only when we continually tell our flesh no, can we die to ourselves and start living a life that is full of joy and beyond anything we can think, hope or imagine!

“But, as it is written,

‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him’—” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (ESV)