Matthew 26:41
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
To really appreciate the following you must be one of those Christians who has a strong desire to live the kind of life that would please the Lord. You must have a Want To attitude toward overcoming sin and temptation. If you have that Want To you are probably very familiar with what I'm calling The Other Want To. You should read on!
I don't really have a problem with sin! I really don't. I am at WAR with sin. Sometimes I win a battle and sometimes I lose one. But there is an on-going war that I'm having with sin. If it were just a problem I could most likely solve it. Ask any mathematician and he will tell you that problems are meant to be solved.
But WARS are meant to be WON! And, you win a war by winning most of the battles. If you lose most of the battles you are not likely to win the war. If you are a normal Christian you probably lose a battle with sin now and then. And that's what I want to look at in this discussion about sin.
As I write this we have just completed the last game of the football season. If you follow football you know what game I am referring to: The Super Bowl. For a team to get to the Super Bowl it is kind of like winning a war. The two teams which make it that far get there because they have won most of the battles along the way. During the regular season they may have lost a game now and then but the number of games they won outnumbered the number of games they lost.
Because of their regular-season record they are privileged to get into the play-offs. Here they meet other teams similar to their own. These other teams have won most of their battles also. But in order to remain in the play-offs a team must now WIN EVERY BATTLE. At this point winning becomes much more important than ever. And if they are fortunate enough to make it all the way through the play-off games they gain the privilege of playing in the Super Bowl.
Now, the team they play in the Super Bowl has had to win in the same way they did: They had to win most of the battles during the regular season. Then they had to win every battle during the play-offs. So, whoever that other team is, they are accustomed to WINNING battles. Just like old Satan is accustomed to winning most of his battles - and he does win most of his battles. The only major battle he ever lost was his first one when he thought he could win against Almighty God. I guess you could say his first battle was his super bowl. A huge loss!
As Paul has mentioned in his epistles, there are a lot of similarities between sports and the Christian life. And there are very many similarities between football and the Christian life.
Most of us usually tune in to watch the major football game of the season - The Super Bowl. It is the culmination of all of the excitement and expectations of the entire football season which begins in September and ends in February of the following year. It is the highlight of all true football fans and, to each team that plays in the Super Bowl, it is the final battle to determine who wins the war - who is the victor when all is said and done!
But to the owners and coaches, although it is one of the greatest things that could happen, it is only just another battle. That's because they know they must begin preparing for the next season as soon as the all of the excitement of winning is over at the end of Super-Bowl-Sunday.
I hope you have watched at least one Super Bowl game so that you can identify with what I'm about to say. If not please let me describe just a little part of it for you:
Remember, the two teams that play are there because they have worked hard and won most of their games. As the hype builds over the two-week period preceding the game they practice and review the video tapes of themselves as well as those of the opposing team. They need to remember every move, every special play, every offensive trick that the other team has used throughout the season. Then they will be prepared when these tactics are applied against them during the big game.
The big day finally arrives and there is much “hoop-la” leading up to the kickoff. And the game begins! Even the commercial breaks are interesting to watch because they have been made special for Super Bowl viewers. The most exciting Super Bowls I have watched are those where the scores are so close that you have no idea who may win throughout the entire game.
The Super Bowl half-time is extra long in order to provide for more commercials as well as to help make this event one which attracts the most viewers. There is plenty of singing and dancing on the field while the players and coaches are in the dressing rooms stirring up the members of the team and giving them the “Want-To” in order to win this all-important game.
Everyone's eyes are watching as the kick-off takes place at the start of the second half. Each team is refreshed as they once again begin to do all they can to out-play the opposing team. And so it goes for the next thirty minutes of play. Then, as the last minutes of the game approach, the cameras zoom in on the faces of various players and coaches. Everyone is waiting to see who will come out the victor as the clock ticks off the last few seconds.
Finally, when it is finished, and there is ONE winner and ONE loser, the cameras zoom in again. As we view the winning team we see players hugging and jumping up and down throwing their arms high in the air. We watch as two of the players pour a barrel of Gator Aid over the head of the coach. He turns and laughs as they lift him onto their shoulders and carry him about parading around before the spectators and the opposing team.
But on the other side of the playing field the cameras zoom in on the faces of the losing team. They are NOT jumping up and down. They are not hugging each other and laughing. They are sitting, with their heads hung low. They are standing with their helmets at their side, looking sadly at the ground. Some even have tear-filled eyes. They have lost the battle. All of the excitement they expressed before the game started is no longer anywhere to be found. Down inside themselves they have a feeling of failure that we can all identify with. It is the feeling that you have not only let the team and the coach down - you have let yourself down also.
Throughout the above description of the game of football and in particular, the Super Bowl, I have interchanged the word "battle" and the word "game". Now, in football either word will suffice. Some play football as if it were a sport and some play it as if it were a profession. Thus: professional football. But the truth is; football is ONLY a game. On the other hand, there is no room for the word game in the Christian life. It is not a game. It is a WAR!
One of the things that I have learned in my many years as a Christian is that it isn't just ONE battle. It is ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER! And I have lost many more battles than I wish to recall. And after every loss I feel just like the above description of the losing football team. It is not a good feeling to have. It is always heart-breaking. The feelings that come up inside are always pointing their finger right between my eyes and saying, “You have let yourself down! - But worse than that - You have let your Savior down!”
The worst part of losing the battle is the knowledge that I could have won if only I would have clung tighter to my “Want To.” That's the difference between football and real life. No matter how good a football team may be, the other team may be better, and there's no way to win if you don't have what it takes.
But in the Christian life we already know that the other team (Satan and his angels) can always be beaten if we can just maintain our “Want To” position. The problem I have always been confronted with is the existence of The Other Want To.
Now you may be asking “What is The Other Want To?”
A good example of it would be the Want To find out what I may be missing. Usually, when we are tempted by sin it falls under this category. For instance, right after football season ends we need to be preparing our income tax return. How many times have you been tempted to change or delete the facts concerning your income? Why would you do this? Because if you are totally honest you will be missing out on more money.
Your Other Want To - wants to have more money.
Another example would be the decision to tell a lie instead of the truth. If you tell the truth you may get into trouble and by telling a lie you will miss out on punishment.
The Other Want To - wants to avoid punishment.
How about a guy like myself who is tempted to lust after a woman other than my wife. What will I be missing out on if I turn the other way and flee temptation?
My Other Want To - wants to see what I may be missing out on by dwelling on unclean thoughts about the other woman.
These are examples of some of the times when The Other Want To pops its ugly head up and beckons us to follow. You may have a want to please Jesus and in your heart you hold the desire to follow Him. But you also have the other want to enjoy the pleasures of this world, whatever they may be. The Other Want To is a strong motivating force that exists within us from the top of our head to the bottom of our toes. It is called our flesh! And it fills a much larger portion of our bodies than our heart takes up. As you know from living in a democracy - Majority Rules!
There is a story of a missionary to the American Indians who had led the chief of a tribe to Jesus. Following that, the missionary was away from that area of the country for many years. Eventually he had the opportunity to stop by and visit with the old chief. When the missionary asked the old chief if he had been growing in his faith, this is how he answered:
“I have two dogs living within my body. One dog is black. He is a bad dog, and causes many problems in my life. The other dog is white. He is a good dog, and brings me much happiness. These two dogs are always fighting within me. When the black dog wins I am a sad man all day long but when the white dog wins I am a very happy man throughout the day.”
To this the missionary asked, “Which dog wins most of the time?”
The old chief answered, “The dog I feed the most is always the dog that wins.”
I have found that I also have these same two dogs living inside of myself. They never stop fighting for control over the other. I have also found the same thing is true of those two dogs living inside of me. If I feed the black dog he wins the battle and I am sad. If I feed the white dog he wins the battle and I am much happier.
The same is true of the Want To and The Other Want To. My Want To follow Jesus and please my Lord needs to be fed throughout the day. My Other Want To needs to be STARVED!
I have found that I can't even feed The Other Want To a few crumbs. He loves crumbs. It seems like he grows much stronger and much faster on those crumbs. Whereas, my Want To always suffers a near-death encounter when I only feed him crumbs. That's probably because The Other Want To also receives nutrition from all the world around me. All that I see with my eyes and hear with my ears throughout each day funnels into the food basket. And most of that is only digestible by The Other Want To.
So, if I Want To win each battle with temptation and sin there is only one solution: I must NOT feed even ONE crumb to The Other Want To. That means I must be very careful about what I look at and what I listen to. It means I must control my thoughts and desires.
But that's not all I must do. I must also constantly feed my white dog - my Want To. I must make it possible for him to stand up strong when temptation comes along. He has to be able to win today's battles by shouting, “I WANT TO please my Jesus! I WANT TO be the winner and not the sinner. I WANT TO possess the inner feelings of success and victory.” And all it takes to make this all happen is good nutrition - more than just a few crumbs.
Good nutrition comes from starting each day by sitting down with God's word and reading it. Good nutrition comes from starting each day spending time speaking and listening to God. Good nutrition comes from begging the Holy Spirit to guide and influence everything you do throughout the day. That's how you feed the white dog. That's how you feed your Want To. That's how you starve your Other Want To.
If you work hard at keeping your Want To strong your days will become as exciting as Super-Bowl-Sunday was for the winning team. But if you continue following the lead of The Other Want To, each day will be another day of lost battles. Your life will consist of disappointments and regrets. Your head will hang low as you lament having let yourself and your savior down - one more time.
By the way, The Other Want To will never die as long as there is blood flowing in your veins. You will always have one more battle to win over him. But Super-Bowl-Sunday is coming! The final battle is waiting to be won by those of us who have asked God to forgive us of our sins and have turned from them and taken up our cross with a real Want To attitude toward following Jesus daily.