Submitting and Resisting

   Have you ever felt like you were at war with yourself? You wanted to do something but you knew it was wrong or something told you, you shouldn't do it? That may be your conscious telling you not to do something because you know it's wrong. But, who or what is telling you to do the wrong thing?

   You may picture an angel on one shoulder and the devil on another shoulder. Let me give you another example. In The Lord of the Rings series there is a character named Gollum. This character has a very interesting story and may have what some people would call Dissociative Identity Disorder. In other words it seems like he has two personalities. One of them is Gollum, who is obsessed with the ring. The other is Smeagol, who is a hobbit from the Shire.

   In a particular clip from the movie Gollum is having an argument with Smeagol. Check out the clip here then continue to read the blog.

   In the clip Gollum is having problems because part of his personality is bringing him down. While is is true that Gollum probably wouldn't be there at that point without the ring, Smeagol is tired of being told what to do. He is tired of being reminded of all the wrong things he has done. He tells the Gollum part of him to leave and never come back.

   James 4:7 says: "submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." While we may not have two personalities like Gollum does, we do all have times where we feel like there are two voices telling us what to do. At that point we have a choice. If we choose the Devil, we may feel happiness on earth but will we actually have true, permanent happiness? More than likely we will not.

   If we choose to follow God we may not be happy when we are on earth but we know that our heavenly Father is looking down and smiling. Life on earth sure isn't easy but we aren't here to live life to the fullest for ourselves. We are here to reflect God's glory, worship him, and tell others about him. If we chose the Devil then we turn our backs on God. In turn, he will turn his back on us when we get to heaven.

   Please do not misunderstand me here; I am not saying that God doesn't love you if you make a wrong choice. He still loves you, but when judgement day comes will you be able to say with confidence that you are going to heaven? Matthew 7:21-23 talks about how a lot of people call Jesus Lord but only those who do the will of the Father will enter heaven. We have a choice whether or not we will believe in Christ and follow him or not.

   So, will you resist the Devil? Will you lean on God through the good and the bad? Will you choose to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior?

   James 4:7, Matthew 7:21-23, Proverbs 3:5-6, 1 Corinthians 10:31