A couple of weeks ago, when I was reading through 2 Peter to start getting a feel for what we'd be talking about over the next few weeks, and a particular verse caught my attention.
To give you a little bit of context, for the last several verses, Peter has been talking, rather graphically, about false prophets (or people who misrepresent the Gospel) and how, sooner or later, they will get what's coming to them (for lack of a better term). At which point he says..."for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved." (2:19b, NASB)
When I read this for the first time, it made me stop and think.
I kept repeating it to myself in my head, "By what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved."
So I started thinking, what does it mean to be overcome by something? And how do you go from being overcome to being slaved?
And the more I thought about it, the more I kept thinking about a lot of people I know and a lot about the way our society functions.
See, you and I were created to be overcome, overwhelmed, obsessed, enthralled, whatever you want to call it by one thing and one thing only. And that one thing that we are supposed to be enthralled and obsessed with is God.
But the large majority of our society forgets that -- even many of those who claim Christ. We forget that our one focus is always to be Christ. He is to be the one thing that drives all of our actions, thoughts, and desires. And so, when we let something else drive our actions, thoughts, and desires, it's very easy for us to become overcome. And, according to Scripture (you know, see above), whatever overcomes you enslaves you.
As my small group girls and I continued to talk about this particular phrase, I realized just how easy it is for us to be overcome by things that, by definition, are good or can be helpful. C.S. Lewis points out in his book "Mere Christianity" that almost all things are not bad, by definition. They can be good or bad, dependent upon the situation.
To give a rather stereotypical example, sex, by definition, is not a bad thing. In the confines of marriage, it is a very good and wonderful gift. The opposite is true outside of the confines of marriage. But just because sex is bad in some situations does not make sex, in and of itself, bad.
The same can be said for many of the things that we can be overcome and subsequently enslaved to.
One of the things that one of my girls mentioned was time. It's a good thing to make the most of your time, to be organized and productive and not waste time, but it's very easy to become overcome with and subsequently enslaved by time, especially when you live in a busy area like Northern Virginia. You become obsessed with mapping out each moment of your day. You're constantly checking the clock making sure things don't run over. You get stressed out when something runs late or breathe a huge sigh of relief when you get to or finish something early. It's very easy to become a slave to time management without even realizing it.
As we sat in the group talking, I asked each of the girls to mention one thing that they felt had been "overcoming and enslaving" them recently. It's not easy to admit that there are things that we allow to take over our thoughts and minds to the point that we become obsessive, but admitting you have a sin problem is the first step to overcoming that sin problem. And from there, the Lord can do His work.
Do you find yourself becoming easily overcome by and enslaved to things other than the Lord? What are some ways you've found to be helpful in getting your focus back where it should be?
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The post Overcome and Enslaved. appeared first on Shades of Shayes.
