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Morning Devotion for the Season of Epiphany
Friday, February 7, 2025
Galatians 5:16-24
Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For 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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Meditation by Jeremy O’Neill
If you were to classify the content of Paul’s letters into academic disciplines, the vast majority of the canonical content he wrote would fall into two categories: theology and ethics. In simple terms, he writes about how we understand God and how we should live our lives. Ideally these fields inform one another, and I hesitate to ascribe any hierarchy between the two. However, I consistently find that for most people it is easy to get on board with Paul’s theology but much more difficult to on board with his ethical suggestions for the communities he addresses.
In many cases that is because Paul’s ethics can be oppressive, problematic, or dated. This is especially true in his social visions for the world, and while this can be attributed to his addressing a particular context, this does not render his statements excusable or as a basis for any of our modern social ethics. But what is interesting about this passage is not the apparent social ethics but that simultaneously we get a little bit of ethics and a little bit of theology. Now I must say I don’t agree with the vision that the body and spirit are in opposition to one another, nor do I view Paul’s use of the term “the flesh” as a call to repress aspects of ourselves as a helpful distinction. I actually think that trusting our bodies and trusting our feelings would be a more helpful imperative than a damnation of the flesh. That being said, I do think that there is value to be found even in the limitations of this passage.
In short, this passage can be read as a call to better understand and be present with our existence. There are so many ways we as humans try to distract ourselves from our “createdness.” Our createdness is our status as creatures living into and being made in the image of God. The fact that we exist, the fact that we are beings, the fact that we are in relationship with other creatures and with the earth – all of these facts matter. The laundry list of things that Paul is talking about all serves as ways to distance ourselves from who we really are at our core, especially if done without moderation.
This laundry list of seemingly bad things is juxtaposed with a shorter list of life-giving things, all of which reorient us to who we really are. To reinforce this Paul writes that “There is no law against such things.” There is no law against being a human being, and there are no laws against recognizing the humanity of others. As simple as it sounds, we can always take a moment to be still and be reminded that God is God and that we are created.
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